Sea otters maintain the balance of kelp forest ecosystems by controlling populations of sea urchins, which are voracious kelp grazers. Since 2014, however, California's kelp forests have declined ...

Just by eating sea urchins and destructive shellfish, sea otters are keeping kelp forests healthy and coastal erosion at bay.

image: A southern sea otter with a purple sea urchin in Monterey Bay, California. view more Credit: Morgan Rector. Sea otters have long been recognized as a classic example of a keystone species ...

A southern sea otter with a purple sea urchin in Monterey Bay, California. (Credit: Morgan Rector) (CN) — The kelp forests along the coast of California have been under attack by purple sea urchins, ...

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...

Petition to delist southern sea otters filed by sea urchin harvesters. In their March 2021 petition to delist the southern sea otter from the federal Endangered Species Act, the California Sea ...

Sea urchins dine on a reef in the Aleutian Islands. Urchins, which boomed after sea otters disappeared, destroyed many kelp forests on the reefs and are now eating the algae-filled reefs that have ...

By doing this, the sea otters are helping to maintain those patches of healthy kelp forest, which are now crucially important for the persistence of giant kelp along the coast. Spores produced from ...

Despite recent efforts by sea urchin harvesters to reduce protections for southern sea otters under the Endangered Species Act, the species is still at risk, federal officials say. The fuzzy ...

Petition to delist southern sea otters filed by sea urchin harvesters. In their March 2021 petition to delist the southern sea otter from the federal Endangered Species Act, the California Sea ...