Facts about Sea Otter Predation and Kelp Forests
- 05
Carbon sequestration is an indirect benefit of sea otter predation, as healthy kelp forests absorb significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.
- 04
Ecologist Robert Paine's concept of a 'keystone species' is exemplified by sea otters, whose predation on urchins disproportionately shapes kelp forest structure relative to their own biomass.
- 03
In areas where sea otters were hunted to local extinction, unchecked sea urchin populations consumed kelp holdfasts, collapsing entire kelp forest communities.
- 02
The recovery of sea otter populations along the North American Pacific coast has been directly linked to the regrowth and health of kelp forest ecosystems.
- 01
Sea otters help maintain kelp forest ecosystems by preying on sea urchins, which would otherwise overgraze kelp and create barren underwater areas called urchin barrens.