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 and action of sustainability of the environment of the keystone species, the evaluation of environmental and economic impact.
About Sea Otter:
The sea Otter is currently considered threaten under the Endangered Species Act however, the IUCN Red List …show more content…
This reduction of the Kelp forest would increase the atmospheric carbon in the coastal ecosystem. Being the top predator for sea urchins, without the sea otters, the kelp forests would be greatly reduced due to the main herbivore, sea urchins. These grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival. This relationship between sea otters and kelp is critical in helping to preserve the Kelp forest (see in figure one). The kelp forest stores about by 4.4 to 8.7 megatons of carbon. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon found in the annual carbon dioxide emissions from 3 to 6 million passenger cars. James Estes, an American marine biologist who has studied wildlife in the north Pacific Ocean, states that “The difference in annual absorption of atmospheric carbon from kelp photosynthesis between a world with and a world without sea otters is somewhere between 13 and 43 billion kg of carbon.” (Estes, 2016). Estes also discovered that “Every species in the coastal zone is influenced in one way or another by the ecological effects of sea otters” (Estes, 2016). Thus, by removing sea otters from the north Pacific, for the use of its fur in clothing such as hats, gloves and coats. This has not only significantly endangered the species but has disrupted a large portion of the marine environment in the Pacific and damaged our ability to deal with the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on our
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 and action of sustainability of the environment of the keystone species, the evaluation of environmental and economic impact.
About Sea Otter:
The sea Otter is currently considered threaten under the Endangered Species Act however, the IUCN Red List …show more content…
This reduction of the Kelp forest would increase the atmospheric carbon in the coastal ecosystem. Being the top predator for sea urchins, without the sea otters, the kelp forests would be greatly reduced due to the main herbivore, sea urchins. These grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival. This relationship between sea otters and kelp is critical in helping to preserve the Kelp forest (see in figure one). The kelp forest stores about by 4.4 to 8.7 megatons of carbon. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon found in the annual carbon dioxide emissions from 3 to 6 million passenger cars. James Estes, an American marine biologist who has studied wildlife in the north Pacific Ocean, states that “The difference in annual absorption of atmospheric carbon from kelp photosynthesis between a world with and a world without sea otters is somewhere between 13 and 43 billion kg of carbon.” (Estes, 2016). Estes also discovered that “Every species in the coastal zone is influenced in one way or another by the ecological effects of sea otters” (Estes, 2016). Thus, by removing sea otters from the north Pacific, for the use of its fur in clothing such as hats, gloves and coats. This has not only significantly endangered the species but has disrupted a large portion of the marine environment in the Pacific and damaged our ability to deal with the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on our