How Sea Otters Help Save the Planet

#kpassionate #seaotter #otter
What is the relationship between co2 and sea otters? How could the reintroduction to sea otters to their habitat create a trophic cascade and be a potential solution to the climate crisis?

00:00 - Kelp forest and carbon sequestration
00:38 - 90% of kelp forests have disappeared
01:01 - Kelp forests rely on sea otters
01:28 - What is a keystone species?
01:55 - Sea otters and the fur trade
02:54 - Sea otter predators
03:57 - Sea otter diet
04:38 - Urchin barrens
04:59 - Trophic cascade
06:17 - Carbon sink
07:15 - How Sea otters Help Save the Planet
07:55 - Kpassionate

Sea otters are a keystone species. Which are species that play a critical role in maintaining the stability and health of their ecosystem just like a keystone in an arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure, without it the entire arch would collapse. This is exactly what happened when sea otters were hunted for their fur and their population fell to just one to two thousand individuals living in a fraction of their historic range.

This had a devastating effect on the fight against global warming. And it had everything to do with a sea otter’s impressive metabolism. They eat a quarter of their body weight every single day. One of their favorite things to eat are sea urchins. Sea urchins are voracious eaters. In fact, they are often the dominant herbivore in their environment. And their favorite food… is kelp.

So when the population of sea otters plunged the population of sea urchins soared. Left unchecked, these prickly echinoderms decimated the kelp forests. Turning the once vibrant ecosystems into underwater wastelands. Something called an urchin barren. Some of these urchin barren stretch for thousands of kilometers.

Globally, kelp forests lock up twice the amount of carbon the UK emits every year. They support more biodiversity and sequester more carbon than similar sized redwood groves. In areas where sea otters have recovered, kelp forests have not only returned but are flourishing! Growing at a rate of up to two feet per day.

This is just one reason why scientists like myself are advocating that more value should be placed on protecting and restoring sea otter populations as a natural solution to global warming.

Interested in ways you can help restore sea otters to their historic range? I encourage you to check out my friends at the Elakha Alliance. The Elakha Alliance was formed in 2018 by tribal, nonprofit, and conservation leaders with a shared belief in a powerful vision: an Oregon coast 50 years from now where our children and grandchildren co-exist along with a thriving sea otter population and a robust and resilient marine ecosystem.
https://www.elakhaalliance.org/

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