How sea otters help save the planet answers?
As top predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of nearshore ecosystems, such as kelp forests, embayments and estuaries. Without sea otters, sea urchins can overpopulate the sea floor and devour the kelp forests that provide cover and food for many other marine animals.
How sea otters help save the planet worksheet?
The sea otters keep the population of sea urchins down which allows the kelp forests to grow & helps keeps kelp forests from being destroyed. we need kelp forests because they provide biodiversity.
How sea otters help save the planet quizlet?
Sea otters prey on the sea urchins, which helps the kelp forests. The sea otters keep the population of sea urchins down, which allows the kelp forests to grow, & helps keeps kelp forests from being destroyed.
How do sea otters help us?
Since they have to consume at least 25% of their body weight each day to stay alive, sea otters prey on filter feeders such as mussels and clams. These filter feeders indiscriminately sieve particles out of the water resulting in them accumulating high concentrations of pollutants and disease pathogens.
How otters can help save the ocean?
Beyond their intrinsic value as a species, sea otters play a critical role in maintaining the kelp forest ecosystem. They are the main predators of kelp-eating species such as sea urchins and abalone. Without sea otters, kelp forests are greatly reduced, resulting in the loss of habitat for many fish species.
What are 3 interesting facts about sea otters?
Sea otter fur is the densest of any mammal at about 1 million hairs per square inch (We have 100,000 hairs on our entire head). Wild sea otters typically have a lifespan between 15 and 20 years. Average weight of an adult female California sea otter is about 50 lbs. Males can weigh up to 70 lbs.
Why are otters important?
Otters are an essential keystone species. Along the Pacific coast, sea otters help control the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in turn help prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed.
Are otters good for the environment?
Otters also have a pivotal role in river ecosystems. They are predators, meaning they help control the populations of food species they prey upon. This affects the ecosystem as a whole, and as a result, their presence is a signal that the ecosystem is healthy.
Why are otters useful?
Otters are an essential keystone species. Along the Pacific coast, sea otters help control the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in turn help prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed.
How sea otters help protect underwater meadows?
Once they find the clams in the meadows, they break their shells open with their paws. As a result, the eelgrass beds get holes and cracks that result in the germination of their seeds. Basically, the sea otters work as the sea tractors who plough the eelgrass fields.
What are 5 facts about sea otters?
12 Facts About Otters for Sea Otter Awareness Week
- Forget everything you thought you knew about otter species. …
- Otters have some interesting relatives. …
- Most sea otters call Alaska home. …
- U.S. and international law protects threatened sea otters. …
- Sea otters eat 25 percent of their body weight in food every day.
What is unique about sea otters?
Another underwater superlative: The sea otter is the only marine mammal capable of flipping over boulders on the sea floor—in this case to search out food. And the only marine mammal to catch fish with its forepaws and not its mouth.
How are otters good for the environment?
They are predators, meaning they help control the populations of food species they prey upon. This affects the ecosystem as a whole, and as a result, their presence is a signal that the ecosystem is healthy. Otters have thick fur, which makes them attractive to fur hunters.
What are otters known for?
Otters have the densest fur of any animal—as many as a million hairs per square inch in places. Otters also have particularly stinky poop, which even has its own name: spraints. It's thought to get its special odor, which some scientists describe as smelling like violets, from the seafood diet otters eat.
How do sea otters protect kelp forests?
The presence of sea otters can protect a kelp forest. They eat large amounts of sea urchins, which keeps the creature's numbers in check and prevents the destruction of the kelp forest.
What do otters do for the environment?
They are predators, meaning they help control the populations of food species they prey upon. This affects the ecosystem as a whole, and as a result, their presence is a signal that the ecosystem is healthy. Otters have thick fur, which makes them attractive to fur hunters.