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In Alaskan kelp forest ecosystems, sea otters are the keystone species that mediates this trophic cascade. In Southern California, kelp forests persist without sea otters and the control of herbivorous urchins is instead mediated by a suite of predators including lobsters and large fishes, such as the California sheephead.
The Cook Inlet population is found in the inlet and Shelikof Strait region, and numbers approximately 400 to 500 animals. The larger Bering Sea population ranges throughout the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas; this group comprises perhaps 25,000 animals. Alaska natives harvest small numbers of belugas for food and oil. [56] Gray whale
The Alaskan subspecies of moose (Alces alces gigas) is the largest in the world; adult males weigh 1,200 to 1,600 pounds (542–725 kg), and adult females weigh 800 to 1,300 pounds (364–591 kg) [17] Alaska's substantial moose population is controlled by predators such as bears and wolves, which prey mainly on vulnerable calves, as well as by ...
The team of divers was training in the giant kelp forests of eastern Santa Cruz Island in California’s Channel Islands National Park. Curious sea creature follows diver in kelp forest — and ...
In 2007, a YouTube video of two cute sea otters holding paws drew 1.5 million viewers in two weeks, and had over 20 million views as of January 2015. [158] [159] Filmed five years previously at the Vancouver Aquarium, it was YouTube's most popular animal video at the time, although it has since been surpassed. [160]
The region is strongly influenced by the large mountain ranges stretching throughout most of the coast. Changes in elevation cause changes in plant/animal diversity, this can be exemplified through observing the alpine tundra's vegetation which consists of shrubs, herbs, mosses, and lichens; while lower elevations, the temperate coastal forest hold magnificently large trees such as western ...
Its fast growth and size provide an important habitat not only for the fish and invertebrates that reside in kelp forests, but also for species that use kelp forests as foraging grounds. [15] In bull kelp forests, kelp crabs are important grazers that control the ecosystem by feeding on large canopy kelps such as Nereocystis .
It is at its most abundant in late summer, when the canopy of the kelp forest is at its maximum, but is generally found in the higher part of the kelp understory rather than the canopy. [3] In the winter, the kelp dies back, the crab population declines and crabs may hide in rock crevices. Predators of this crab include fish, sea otters and ...