The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). DOI and the bureaus do not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act. J Toxicol Environ Health. The sea otter had been hunted almost to extinction for its fur by 1910. A. Estes, C.A. And similar situations likely hold true for other ecosystems across the globe. The eeriness did not end there: during a boat ride, one of Rashers colleagues pointed to a cove where he had seen hundreds of sea otters splashing in the frigid water in the 1970s. She currently works as a research technician at the Seattle Aquarium where she assists with on-going conservation research projects spanning rockfish surveys, sea otter foraging, endocrinology, microplastics and coral reef monitoring. We used hook-and-line surveys and underwater visual transects at shallow depths (2-25 m) across 20 rocky reef sites and a space-for-time substitution representing variation in sea otter occupation time. Questions or comments on this article? sea otter, (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, completely marine otter species of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Search for volunteer opportunities around the country, News about wonderful wild things and places, FWS is taking steps to mitigate climate impacts, Search employment opportunities with USFWS, On Second Chances: The Southern Sea Otters Return to Ecological Relevance, Alison Deary: Voyages of a LifelongLearner, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge - The Season of New Life, 2023 - Weekly Highlights from the Asheville Field Office, Asheville, North Carolina, Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA & CCAA), Coastal Barrier Resources Act Project Consultation, Coastal Barrier Resources System Property Documentation, San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office. Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions. "Right now, all the climate change models and proposed methods of sequestering carbon ignore animals," Wilmers said. 2018 Jun 27;8(15):7346-7354. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4259. Sea otters help ecosystems capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass and deep-sea detritus, preventing it from being converted back to carbon dioxide and contributing to climate change. Breen et al. The idea of restoring predators to blunt the impacts of warming has been simmering in ecology for decades. In 1911, most Californians werent thinking about sea otters. Indirect effects of sea otter recovery on temperate reef fish When sea otters are lost from an ecosystem, sea urchin numbers spike. Accessibility Skeletal muscle thermogenesis enables aquatic life in the smallest marine mammal. While some Native peoples within the sea otters range had traditionally conducted local hunting of sea otters, the scale of slaughter in the maritime fur trade was unprecedented, nearly eliminating sea otters from their global range. Often resting near beds of kelp, where they rely on their buoyant bodies to float on their backs, sea otters can gather in groups of up to 1,000 individuals, grasping one anothers forefeet to create large rafts or pods. Moreover, indirect interactions Oecologia. Our results provide further evidence of the wide-ranging indirect effects of sea otter predation on nearshore marine communities and another apex predator, the Bald Eagle. Now, scientists are studying how these marine mustelids may also be climate superheroes. Metabolism describes how food gets converted into energy in cells. They have mostly done so by exposing a single species to warmer temperatures and/or higher acidity and recording how it responds, however. And so it essentially protects the seagrass.". For example, Vicknair and Estes (2012) found that sea otters preyed on predatory sea stars, thereby reducing sea star populations and associated mortality rates from sea star predation on filter-feeding mussels and barnacles.. 2009 May;152(1-4):357-67. doi: 10.1007/s10661-008-0321-7. Bald Eagles and Sea Otters in The Aleutian Archipelago: Indirect New measurements suggest rethinking the shape of the Milky Way galaxy, Astronomers discover two super-Earths orbiting nearby star, Developing multiple concentration gradients for single celllevel drug screening, Solving the mystery of protein surface interactions with geometric fingerprints, Second ring found around dwarf planet Quaoar, Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox. Sea otters are also the smallest marine mammal in the northern hemisphere. See how sea otters maintain the balance of kelp-forest ecosystems by consuming sea urchins, Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz, This article was most recently revised and updated by, Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World, Falling Stars: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species, https://www.britannica.com/animal/sea-otter, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Read about my event of short engaging lightning talks in fulfillment of the UW PCC Graduate Certificate in Climate Science. HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help Nest use dynamics of an undisturbed population of bald eagles. Researchers have proposed that sea otters and their evolutionary progenitors could be indirectly responsible for evolution of the unusually large body sizes of the abalone species in the North Pacific Ocean. Wilmers et al., 2012 Fish and Wildlife Service. When the sea otter returned and began to compete for these same shellfish, some saw the sea otter as an interloper, a destroyer of the oceans bounty. With no otters around, sea urchins graze voraciously on living kelp. A handpicked selection of stories fromBBC Future,Culture,Worklife,TravelandReeldelivered to your inbox every Friday. The Lightning Talks: Sea Otters event occurred on Earth Day, 4/22/2021 from 6-7pm PT on YouTube Live. Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources listed the sea otter as a species of least concern in 1996, population declines since the 1980s due to the effects of pollution from oil spills, conflicts with fisheries, predation by sharks and killer whales, and disease prompted the organization to reclassify the sea otter as an endangered species in 2000. But otters extreme metabolism helps them stay cozy in the waves. Some authorities also consider the marine otter (Lontra felina), a species that lives along the rocky Pacific coast of South America, to be a type of sea otter, because it hunts in shoreline and nearshore ocean areas, preying on crabs and other marine invertebrates. In the absence of sea otters, these areas would have an NPP of 25-70 g C m 2 yr 1 and biomass density of 8-14 g C m 2. Because sea otters (Enhydra lutris) exert a wide array of direct and indirect effects on coastal marine ecosystems throughout their geographic range, we investigated the potential influence of sea otters on the ecology of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA. Sea otters, the "keystone predator" of Aleutian Islands' kelp forests, experienced dramatic population declines in the 1990s. Scientists dont yet know how otters cells turn this process on and off. Input from stakeholders will be critical in informing next steps. MeSH Predatory fish invasion induces within and across ecosystem effects in Yellowstone National Park. Being a small-bodied marine mammal in cold waters presents a real thermal challenge, says Traver Wright, a comparative physiologist at Texas A&M University in College Station. Incorporating it would offer a clearer picture of what a warmer future holds in store. Still, it was clear that a large oil spill could potentially cause the subspecies extinction. 2006. However, copper rockfish fishable biomass was negatively correlated with canopy kelp stipe density, likely due to the successional transition as sea otters return to an area from the disturbance-tolerant annual kelp Nereocystis to the perennial kelp Macrocystis. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Two of these populations disappeared by the end of the decade. . We used the overexploitation, recovery and subsequent collapse of sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations in t To me, this is probably one of the clearest pieces of evidence saying, Heres how they did it, Williams says. Sea otters stay warm thanks to leaky mitochondria in their muscles Contrary to our predictions, we found no effects on density of breeding pairs on four islands from 1993-1994 to 2000-2002. That perspective is echoed in a soon to be published paper by University of Colorado Boulder ecologist Laura Dee, who points to the many indirect effects warmer temperatures can have on a species. Knowledge awaits. The actions of the wind, differences in temperature within the ocean and differences in density and salt concentration all act together to produce the great ocean currents that flow around the world. Simon Fraser University Library is grateful to be located on the lands of the xmkym (Musqueam), Swxw7mesh (Squamish), slilwta (Tsleil-Waututh), qcy (Katzie), kikm (Kwikwetlem), qiqyt (Qayqayt), qa:nn (Kwantlen), Smym (Semiahmoo), and scwan (Tsawwassen) Nations. In fact, every species that feeds on these relatively chemically undefended macroalgae of the North Pacific may owe a debt to sea otters. When kelp dies, it tends to stay buoyant until those little floats break down. 4. Large areas that had been alive for centuries or millennia were crumbling and bleached, indicating urchins had recently killed them. Only a handful remained. The Services assessment reviews the biological, socioeconomic, and legal aspects of reintroduction feasibility and summarizes known information, key data gaps, and stakeholder perspectives. But when dead kelp sinks to the sea floor, it might not surface (and therefore decompose and produce carbon dioxide) for thousands of years. and Terms of Use. ?? Over an ecosystem area of approximately 5.1 10 10 m 2, the effect of sea otter predation on living kelp biomass alone represents a 4.4-to 8.7-teragram increase in C storage. From the moment Berings men returned home to Russia with sea otter pelts, the species was in mortal danger. Other Russians soon returned to obtain more furs, forcing skilled Aleutian hunters to join their hunting expeditions. During the event, we received 395 chat messages in the YouTube live chat and had 364 concurrent viewers at the peak. Sea otters are creatures steeped in superlatives. "I felt like I had learned something that was fairly remarkable.". Bringing sea otters back to the Pacific coast pays off, but not for everyone, How kelp forests off California are responding to an urchin takeover, 50 years ago, atomic testing created otter refugees, Heres what we know about upcoming vaccines and antibodies against RSV, Pets and people bonded during the pandemic. Your feedback is important to us. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aav1139. To dwell in cold oceans, mammals must have developed ways to regulate their body temperature amid the chill. One idea researchers have floated is to use money from otter-generated carbon offsets to compensate fishers for losses in their catch. Sea otters secret to staying warm isnt in thick stores of blubber. These sea otters were the only living representatives of the subspecies that came to be known as the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis). Invest in quality science journalism by donating today. I believe the speakers did an amazing job at articulating climate change through an animal lens, and they highlighted multiple ways that climate change will impact the marine environment and how sea otters can help mitigate those changes. Kelp is particularly efficient at sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Instead of roving about and attacking the holdfasts that anchor living kelp to the rocky ocean floor, creating urchin barrens, fearful sea urchins adopt a sit-and-wait strategy, hiding in deep crevices and eating only those pieces of kelp that break off and drift down. 1982, Estes and Duggins 1995, Watson and Estes 2011, Burt et al. 2006 Jan;146(4):623-31. doi: 10.1007/s00442-005-0230-1. Such work is valuable but can miss the big picture if it ignores the community in which a species exists. Amy Olsen is a second-year masters student of the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and completed this capstone project for the Graduate Certificate in Climate Science. When otters are around, sea urchins hide in crevices and eat kelp scraps. Although trophic cascades - the effect of apex predators on progressively lower trophic level species through top-down forcing - have been demonstrated in diverse ecosystems, the broader potential influences of trophic cascades on other species and ecosystem processes are not well studied. Carbon prices have climbed since then, recently exceeding 60 (51/$71) a tonne, which would bring that estimate even higher in today's market. Sea otters can also benefit seagrass. (PDF) Oxygen consumption, thermoregulation, and the effect of fur Such devastation underscores the urgency of restoring balance to the ecosystem by bringing the otters back. Some of these effects are perceived as beneficial to people, and others are perceived as negative. Because of the high rate of uptake of atmospheric CO2, it has been hypothesized that sea otters might increase the rate What participants desired most out of the event was to learn and connect. Despite high attrition, reintroductions using translocated wild sea otters have resulted in about 35% of global sea otter abundance. New methods of reintroduction using juvenile sea otters who stranded as pups and were raised by surrogate sea otter mothers also show great promise. Her work has appeared in Audubon, Sierra, Discover, and elsewhere. But reintroducing otters is not a win for everyone. Floating on its back, it opens mollusks by smashing them on a stone balanced on its chest. Bookshelf Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/110176. T. Wright et al. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are a small mammal in the weasel family. (Phys.org)Can an abundance of sea otters help reverse a principal cause of global warming? The key to that difference has to do with sea otters' voracious appetites. Registration occurred through the Seattle Aquarium website, and was advertised in multiple ways (facebook ads, Seattle Aquarium members, staff and volunteers, UW SMEA department listserv, UW PCC listserv, etc). Sea otters were once widespread across coastal waters in the Northern Pacific Ocean, from Baja California to Alaska, all the way to rocky reefs in Russia and Japan. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. These slugs and snails often don't eat the seagrass; instead they scrape away the algae that grows on the grass, which allows the seagrass to absorb more sunlight and grow more efficiently. devouring the massive, slow-forming limestone reefs, warmer winters in Yellowstone National Park, Social Capital in Black Communities Is Often Overlooked, How Starting Brush Fires Could Save Africa's Disappearing Lions, Do Animals Really Anticipate Earthquakes? Find out more about how we calculated this figure here. After the event, there were >1,000 views of the YouTube video within 12 hours. Overall, we found higher fishable biomass of copper rockfish at sites where sea otter occupation was greatest, and evidence that copper rockfish catch rates were higher in relatively larger kelp beds. Researchers have also uncovered other surprising indirect effects, such as sea otters beneficial effects on seagrass abundance and even its genetic diversity. We studied the diets, productivity, and density of breeding Bald Eagles on four islands during 1993-1994 and 2000-2002, when sea otters were abundant and scarce, respectively. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. A lock () or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. These lightning talk events are widely accessible to all with an internet connection. Direct and indirect effects of climate change-amplified pulse heat They are primarily found in kelp forests, which are underwater forest-like systems, home to many species. Scientists still need to understand the reasons behind the otters disappearances, but Rasher Is hopeful. 4. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS ", More information: If only 1% of kelp between the Aleutians and Vancouver Island is stowed away in the deep sea, that's still enough to offset the emissions of 100,000 combustion-powered automobiles. Sea otters were not affected by oil from the Santa Barbara spill because they had not recovered their range that far south. The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1.2g to 3.6g CO2 per page view. Epub 2014 Nov 22. Crabs eat animals that clean the estuary's sea grass of algae, which is caused by farm pollution. Our mission is to provide accurate, engaging news of science to the public. T. Wright (Image obtained under USFWS Marine MammalPermitNo. The emissions from travel it took to report this story were 0kg CO2. part may be reproduced without the written permission. A new study by two UC Santa Cruz researchers suggest that a thriving sea otter population that keeps sea urchins in check will in turn allow kelp forests to prosper. This puts them at a high potential for heat loss, especially because, unlike most marine mammals, sea otters do not have blubber to insulate them. sea otter, (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, completely marine otter species of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. All rights reserved. 2019 Mar 20;5(3):eaav1139. MA-043219 to R. Davis), 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, Neuroscientists decoded peoples thoughts using brain scans, Mouse hair turns gray when certain stem cells get stuck, Here are 5 cool findings from a massive project on 240 mammal genomes, Fentanyl deaths have spiked among U.S. children and teens, Satellite data reveal nearly 20,000 previously unknown deep-sea mountains, Thawing permafrost may unleash industrial pollution across the Arctic, Ultrasound reveals trees drought-survival secrets, Seismic waves crossing Mars core reveal details of the Red Planets heart, Rocky planets might have been able to form in the early universe, Cosmic antimatter hints at origins of huge bubbles in our galaxys center, Black holes resolve paradoxes by destroying quantum states, These worms can escape tangled blobs in an instant. The sea otter is the largest otter, reaching 100-160 cm (40 . The site is secure. R Soc Open Sci. Bald eagles and sea otters in the Aleutian Archipelago: indirect Using data on the rate of kelp growth and its density at sites with and without otters, they found that the presence of sea otters across rocky reef habitat in the study area, covering 51,551 . Physical disturbance by recovering sea otter populations - Science We found no evidence that sea otter occupation time or any other factor tested affected rockfish or greenling density observed on underwater visual surveys. However, large numbers of sea otters can deplete shellfish populations, competing with fisheries for crabs, clams, and abalones. "It is significant because it shows that animals can have a big influence on the carbon cycle," said Wilmers, assistant professor of environmental studies. The sea otter is the largest otter, reaching 100160 cm (4065 inches) long and weighing 1640 kg (3590 pounds) when fully grown. Mitigating increased CO2 in the atmosphere is a pressing issue in global environmental conservation with many obstacles and no easy solutions, the authors write. When sea otters are absent, urchins decimate kelp, resulting in low net primary productivity. Scientists already knew sea otters rely on an extreme metabolism to maintain, on average, a 37 Celsius body temperature, eating 25 percent of their body mass in food every day (SN: 6/13/14).. In a study on black abalone, which were listed as endangered in 2009 due to the combined effects of past overharvesting and a devastating disease called withering syndrome, researchers found that the highest densities of black abalone occurred in areas with the highest densities of sea otters. After the event, there were >1,000 views of the YouTube video within 12 hours. 8600 Rockville Pike Indirect effects and prey behavior mediate interactions between an endangered prey and recovering predator. of carbon sequestration through their positive indirect effect on kelp ( Wilmers et al., 2012 ). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZmiqJ12Mms. Sea otters have likely exerted evolutionary and ecological effects on North Pacific eelgrass meadows since at least the mid-Pleistocene (~600 to 700 thousand years ago) (19, 22). By consuming sea urchins who are not similarly hidden, sea otters change sea urchin behavior. Epub 2005 Sep 27. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. The spreading kelp can absorb as much as 12 times the amount of CO2 from the atmosphere than if it were subject to ravenous sea urchins, the study finds. 2015 Mar;177(3):645-655. doi: 10.1007/s00442-014-3149-6. Your support enables us to keep our content free and accessible to the next generation of scientists and engineers. With one of their main natural predators absent for so long, abalone could be found exposed on rocks instead of hidden in crevices, sometimes piled several animals deep. Sea otters eat sea urchins, resulting in large healthy kelp forests and high pet primary productivity. In temperate rocky reef ecosystems, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) trigger a cascade of direct and indirect effects driving transitions between kelp-depleted and . Its in their muscles. In 1913, California declared the sea otter a fully protected mammal. That designation made it a high misdemeanor to kill or possess them. Direct and indirect effects of temperature on the population - PubMed Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! Sea otters can greatly affect the environment they live in. Omissions? Ocean acidification (OA) is another climate-induced process that could indirectly impact sea otters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZmiqJ12Mms, Autumn 2021 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: IPCC AR6 WG1 Chapter Summaries, Winter 2021 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: A PCC/CHanGE Partnership, Spring 2022 Current Climate Change Research Seminar: IPCC AR6 WG2, Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, & Ecosystem Studies. As sea otters declined (for reasons scientists are still trying to understand), their favorite preysea urchinsexploded in number. Do trophic cascades affect the storage and flux of atmospheric carbon
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