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Some of the sea otter's preferred prey species, particularly abalone, clams, and crabs, are also food sources for humans. In some areas, massive declines in shellfish harvests have been blamed on the sea otter, and intense public debate has taken place over how to manage the competition between sea otters and humans for seafood.
One of the sea otters' primary food sources is the sea urchin (Class: Echinoidea). When hunters caused sea otter populations to decline, an ecological release of sea urchin populations occurred. The sea urchins then overexploited their main food source, kelp, creating urchin barrens where no life exists. No longer having food to eat, the sea ...
The pelagic food web, showing the central involvement of marine microorganisms in how the ocean imports nutrients from and then exports them back to the atmosphere and ocean floor. A marine food web is a food web of marine life. At the base of the ocean food web are single-celled algae and other plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton.
The first male sea otter arrived in the Elkhorn Slough, 35 miles north of Bixby Cove, in the late 1990s. ... But sea otters don't have blubber, so they have to eat an enormous amount of food every ...
One of the sea otters’ primary food sources is the sea urchin. When hunters caused sea otter populations to decline, an ecological release of sea urchin populations occurred. The sea urchins then overexploited their main food source, kelp , creating urchin barrens, areas of seabed denuded of kelp, but carpeted with urchins.
Sea otters can also bite sea urchins and mussels open using their strong jaws and teeth. Adults can crush most of their food items but youngsters have not yet developed powerful enough jaws. Therefore, young otters require the assistance of a tool or stone. Tools may also be used when the molluscs are too large to be crushed in the jaws. [14] [15]
This is great news for sea otter conservation.
Sea Otters are one of the cutest animals on the planet. Here are some of facts that will make you fall in love with them all over again. SEE ALSO: These tiny bats look just like cotton balls 1.