how do people help sea otters

by Sam Dickinson Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

12 Ways You Can Help Sea Otters.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever you can.
Dispose of hazardous wastes properly.
Grow a garden. The roots take in water, reducing the amount of runoff.
Use nontoxic household cleaning products.
Don’t litter or dump materials into storm drains.
Pick up after your pets.
Use less water.
Purchase sustainable, recycled, biodegradable goods.
Volunteer to help or create a beach clean up.
Get your car oil changed to prevent leaks.

Fertilizers that make their way into the ocean can cause algal blooms, many of which are toxic to sea otters and other marine species. Support legislation and community efforts to improve wetlands. You can also help by supporting legislation protecting sea otter habitats, kelp forests, and marine protected areas.

Full Answer

Why do we want to save sea otters?

So yes, we want to save sea otters because they play an essential role in the lives of many animals around them, including humans, but also because no animal deserves to become endangered or extinct due to our impact.

How do humans affect sea otters?

How sea otters help in preserving kelp forests that grow underwater?

Sea otters help in preserving the kelp forests that grow underwater ‘’Kelps’’ are brown algae seaweeds growing rapidly underwater covering 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide crucial habitat and food for other marine organisms and also help to contain coastal erosion. A collection of kelps result in the formation of kelp forests.

How do sea otters help sea urchins?

Along the Pacific coast, sea otters help control the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in turn help prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed.

How are scientists helping sea otters?

They rescue, treat and release injured otters, raise and release stranded pups through their surrogate program, provide care for sea otters that can't return to the wild, and conduct scientific research.

Why should sea otters be saved?

Sea otters help ecosystems capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass and deep-sea detritus, preventing it from being converted back to carbon dioxide and contributing to climate change.

How do humans impact sea otters?

Humans are the biggest threat to sea otter populations. Direct conflict with humans, through shootings, fishing gear entanglements and boat strikes, take a toll on sea otters, but oil spills, pollution, disease and loss of kelp pose major threats.

What organizations are helping sea otters?

To learn more about FSO, go to www.seaotters.org or contact Cassie Pais at . Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay involved! Sea Otter Savvy to proud to partner with Friends of the Sea Otter to protect California's sea otters!

Why are otters important?

Otters are an essential keystone species. Along the Pacific coast, sea otters help control the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in turn help prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed.

Are otters good for the environment?

Otters also have a pivotal role in river ecosystems. They are predators, meaning they help control the populations of food species they prey upon. This affects the ecosystem as a whole, and as a result, their presence is a signal that the ecosystem is healthy.

What would you expect to happen if sea otters were removed from this food web?

They eat sea urchins and other invertebrates that graze on giant kelp. Without sea otters, these grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival.

Why are sea otters important for kelp forests?

Sea otters are a "keystone species" which means that they can exert top-down pressure via predation on sea urchins, which are grazers upon kelp. As urchin density decreases from sea otter predation, so does the grazing pressure on kelp and as a result kelp forests flourish in the presence of sea otters.

How do otter populations help the California coast?

Otters serve a key role in maintaining healthy kelp forests along the California coast. By controlling sea urchin populations which feed upon the kelp, they help to protect habitat for many other species including fish, birds and other marine mammals.

When did sea otter populations recover?

After a treaty banning sea otter hunting was signed into effect early in the 20th century, their populations began to recover. However, population growth in California didn’t reach expected levels and lagged compared growth in northern populations near Alaska.

What parasites are infecting sea otters?

The puzzle of how the parasites Sarcocystis neurona and Toxoplasma gondii, which are shed on land in the feces of opossums and cats, respectively, are infecting sea otters has led California scientists to establish large collaborative teams to understand the land to sea link.

What caused the death of sea otters?

Upon further investigation, scientists discovered that infectious disease plays a significant role in sea otter deaths. Unexpectedly, two landbased parasites, Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis neurona, were responsible for causing fatal brain infections in 24% of sea otters found dead on the California coast from 1998-2001.

Where did sea otters live?

Are their problems important warning signs for the health of that ecosystem and perhaps our own health? Although once very broadly distributed along the Pacific coast from Japan and Russia to California, sea otters were hunted almost to the point of extinction for their luxurious fur coats in the 17-1800s.

Do sea otters eat animals?

As sea otters don’t eat any animals known to harbor Toxoplasma, scientists think run-off from land carries the oocyts into the ocean where otters can then become exposed. Cat litter flushed down toilets may be a small contributor to otter infection if it is discharged into the ocean from water treatment plants.

What are the roles of sea otters in the ecosystem?

They play a vital role in nearshore ecosystems, generating cascading effects in kelp forests and estuaries that promote coastal resilience and benefit local communities . To broaden public acceptance and understanding about the vital role sea otters play and the need to coexist with and protect them , Defenders established ...

Where are sea otters protected?

All sea otters are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and those in California and Southwest Alaska are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Defenders’ California, Northwest and Alaska programs have united ...

Is there a federal plan for managing sea otters?

Despite all these positive activities, a concerted federal strategy for managing sea otters remains elusive. For example, the 18-year-old federal recovery plan for southern sea otters, mandated under the Endangered Species Act, requires extensive revision because much of the scientific data upon which it was based are no longer relevant.

How do otters affect the ecosystem?

A study published today in Science finds that in economic terms, the otters' effect on their ecosystem—including increasing populations of fish, carbon capture and tourism—far outweigh the costs to the commercial shellfish fisheries with which they compete for tasty clams and crabs.

Where do sea otters groom their fur?

A sea otter grooms its dense fur while resting in a kelp bed off the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. (James Thompson Photography) By James Dinneen. smithsonianmag.com. June 12, 2020. Trappers and traders in the 18th and 19th centuries prized sea otters for their thick, waterproof fur—and the high prices they would bring.

What were the effects of the otters hunted to near extinction?

In the years after otters were hunted to near extinction, now that a top predator was gone, shellfish and sea urchins exploded in numbers up and down the coast. In addition to the commercial fisheries that formed to harvest the lucrative animals, coastal communities, many of them indigenous, increasingly relied on ...

How much did Russian noblemen pay for a single otter pelt?

In 1890, for example, a newspaper reported that Russian noblemen who sought to adorn their overcoats with otter pelts were willing to pay nearly $45,000 in today’s money for a single pelt. And so the sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ), once common from the Baja coast of Mexico to the northern shores of Japan, was nearly hunted to extinction by ...

Do sea otters compete with people?

The problem is that sea otters compete with people for the shellfish and urchins that moved in when the otter population were depleted, a conflict that has provoked debate about balancing the need protections for the otters with the economic impact of their presence in the coastal waters. A study published today in Science finds ...

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What is the importance of sea otters?

Held every year during the last week in September, Sea Otter Awareness Week spotlights the important role of sea otters in nearshore ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean.

Why do otters stay together?

A group of otters stay together for mutual protection from predators in the waters around Glaci er Bay National Park in Alaska. Photo by Becky King, National Park Service. 4. U.S. and international law protects threatened sea otters.

How far away should you keep an otter from a sea otter?

Otters have strong teeth and a powerful bite. So whether you see an otter on land or at sea, be sure to maintain a safe distance of at least 50 yards and never feed sea otters. Learn more about staying safe around sea otters.

How many hair follicles does an otter have?

Their fur contains between 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Unlike most other marine mammals, otters lack a blubber layer. Instead they depend on their dense, water-resistant fur to provide insulation. To keep warm, sea otters spend a large portion of their days grooming and conditioning their fur.

What is a group of otters called?

A group of resting otters is called a raft. Otters love to rest in groups. Researchers have seen concentrations of over 1,000 otters floating together. To keep from drifting away from each other, sea otters will wrap themselves up in seaweed, forming something that resembles a raft. A raft of otters resting in a group.

How long can an otter hold its breath?

Sea otters have been known to stay submerged for more than 5 minutes at a time. River otters, however, can hold their breath for up to 8 minutes.

What is the family of sea otter?

Otters are part of the Mustelidae family, which is a family of carnivorous mammals that includes skunks, weasels, wolverines and badgers. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family, yet the smallest marine mammal in North America.

How do sea otters manage their populations?

2. Sea otters manage populations of other marine species by feeding on them. Sea otters reside in the underwater which has extremely cold temperatures. They are adapted to this kind of environment by possessing a dense fur coat which insulates the body from cold. However, this is not enough to keep the sea otters warm.

Why are sea otters important?

Sea otters facilitate the recovery of seagrass beds. Seagrass meadows are significant to the ecosystem as they result in the protection of the coastal regions and preservation of the habitat for fish.

What are kelps? What are their functions?

‘’Kelps’’ are brown algae seaweeds growing rapidly underwater covering 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide crucial habitat and food for other marine organisms and also help to contain coastal erosion. A collection of kelps result in the formation of kelp forests. Sea urchins feed voraciously on kelp forests thereby damaging the eco-system leading to what is known as "urchin barrens." This is an area of the sea without kelp forest cover. Urchin barrens are disastrous to the environment as they result in an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the likelihood of coastal erosion and storm surges. Fortunately, sea otters feed on sea urchins resulting in the preservation of the kelp forests. More kelp forests result in fewer urchin barrens, as well as an increase in the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and release oxygen back into the air. Studies show that the presence of otters increased the carbon storage of kelp forests from 4.4 to 8.7 megatons. Thus, the reduction in the numbers of the sea urchins, caused by the presence of sea otters, prevents the decimation of the kelp forests. Places such as British Columbia, Aleutian Islands, and the Big Sur coast of California have had major improvements in the health of their coastal ecosystems due to the re-introduction of otters.

How does the presence of otters affect the carbon storage of kelp forests?

Studies show that the presence of otters increased the carbon storage of kelp forests from 4.4 to 8.7 megatons. Thus, the reduction in the numbers of the sea urchins, caused by the presence of sea otters, prevents the decimation of the kelp forests. Places such as British Columbia, Aleutian Islands, and the Big Sur coast ...

How do people affect sea otters?

People affect sea otter populations through direct shootings and trapping sea otters in fishing nets. Secondly, oil spills result in the death of sea otters. Crude oil normally penetrates the fur of the otter destroying the air layer that is trapped next to its skin. Consequently, the sea otters die from hypothermia. Additionally, the damaging physical effects of oil contamination, as well as toxicological effects from ingestion and inhalation can lead to severe, long-term organ damage and other potentially life-threatening conditions. The ‘’Exxon Valdez’ oil disaster that occurred in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, proved that the single greatest threat to the otter today is an oil spill. As of 2006, the lingering oil in the area continued to affect the population of these valuable sea creatures.

Why are sea otters considered a keystone species?

Sea otters are ‘’keystone species” because of their critical role in maintaining the health and stability of the nearshore marine ecosystems. A keystone species is one that exerts a large, stabilizing influence throughout an ecological community. The specific role of the sea otters in the eco-system is as follows; 1.

What is the food web that forms within the ecosystem formed by sea otters, crabs, and sea

Such an increase is a result of the food web that forms within this ecosystem formed by the sea otters, crabs, and sea slugs. Sea otters feed on a large number of crabs to retain their body weight. With the reduced crabs in the meadows, the population of the sea slugs increase and feed on the algae seen growing on the leaves of the seagrass.