Sea otter

Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris, also known as sea otters are the heaviest members of the weasel family and the second smallest marine mammals (Basic Facts About Sea Otters). Sea otters make up four different types of species: Enhydra (sea otter), Pteronua (giant otters), Aonyx (clawless otters), and Lutra (river otters) (Seaworld). Sea otters are not found just anywhere in the world. Most sea otters are found in coastal areas and islands of eastern and western North Pacific Ocean such as California, Alaska, Washington, south along British Columbia, and Aleutian Islands (seaworld). Sea otters have physical characteristics such as various shades of brown, short legs, about 4 feet in length, webbed and strong feet, long tails, fur that is long and…

1) After looking at the graphs in Figures 3 and 4, it is obvious that killer whales are the cause behind the deaths of a large amount of sea otters. Despite the data for Figure 3 showing all sea otter the researchers encountered, while the data for Figure 4 showing sea otters with radio tags, both figures still show a drastic decrease in sea otter population with the only main difference between Kulak Bay and Clam Lagoon being the ease of access that killer whales have to the areas. The…

Enhydra Lutris or otherwise known as the Sea otter is an iconic species that embodies the rich diversity of ocean life. As one of the major groups of the weasel family, sea otters are also one of the smallest marine mammals. Unlike other mammals, such as whales and dolphins, Sea otters do not have blubber, instead they have one of the thickest and densest coat of fur. This fur coat holds up to almost one million hairs per square inch (Ravalli, 2010). With this amount of hair, the Sea Otter is…

This report will be discussed on otters. It will describe the basic life of an otter. I will discuss All the types of otters then their diet, population, habitat, and where they live in the world. Then lastly there threats. Otters, including river otters, are the most aquatic members of the weasel family. They have short ,dense underfur, webbed feet and a slim, sinuous body. Both the ears and nostrils can be closed when The animals are underwater. There are many types of otters such as sea…

Sea otters are known as one of the largest members of the weasel family, Mustelidae, but are one of the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, who have blubber that serve as a thermal insulator, sea otters have fur. Their fur is one of the densest, softest furs in the animal kingdom--that is also water-resistant. They are omnivores with a diet consisting of crabs, abalone, sea stars, squid, sea urchins, sea worms and around 40 other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Furthermore, to…

Introduction: The pacific sea otter, known as the heaviest members of the Weasel family, is a keystone species living in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Japan, Russia, America, Canada and Mexico. It’s current population, is estimated to be just over 106,000 worldwide, with just over 3,000 in California. These aquatic mammals are currently under threat of extinction. Through scientific knowledge and understanding of the sea otter, protection laws have been put into place to create for design…

definition of a trophic cascade as an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition, or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain, which often results in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling (huffingtonpost.com).” For that reason, in today’s society we have witnessed numerous trophic cascades that occur all over the world, specifically sea otters, blue crabs, jaguars, and as we…

Sea Otters are a very well known example of a keystone predator and often utilized by textbooks to illustrate the concept. Sea Otters “Enhydra Lutris” are involved in maintaining the population of macrobenthic grazers such as sea urchins “Strongylocentrotus polyacanthus” and mussels. Sea urchins and mussels are the dominant species in these shallow water benthic ecosystems. Left unchecked, the sea urchins overgraze the benthic vegetation and the kelp forests. Kelp forests provide habitat for…

Sea otters spend most their time in the water. Sea otters often float on the surface of the water on their backs. Sea otters eat up to 35% of their weight in fish, crabs, sea urchins, and lobster. Sea otters eat so much that they caused the fish population to decrease significantly. If sea otters were to go extinct then there would be major effects on the ecosystem. Sea otters eat a variety of things, but a big part of their diet is sea urchins. Sea urchins eat plants. If sea otters went extinct…

The text and the lecture are about reasons that caused sea otters declination. The text provide two reasons ro suppot the pollution theory of otters declining. However, the lecturer refutes this theoty and states that three reason is predator, ocra. First, the text says thata lot of sourses of chemical pollution are allonf the Alaskan coast. Thus the chemical pollution could cause immune system of sea otters and as a result to decline populatiion. However, the lecture says thatit it have not…