Without predation pressure from sea otters, urchin populations can multiply exponentially, creating what scientists call “urchin barrens”—vast underwater areas stripped of kelp and dominated by dense ...

SEA OTTERS HAVE BEEN ABSENT from the Oregon Coast ever since the early 1900s, victims of the voracious fur trade, but their relationship to coastal tribes is long and special.

The main reason sea otters are threatened and endangered today is due to overhunting. During the 18th to 19th centuries, hunters heavily pursued sea otters for their thick fur.

Without sea otters, sea urchin numbers would spike, and the stability of this ecosystem would collapse. Sea urchins would graze through the kelp forest, chewing away at the base and sending the rest ...

The sea-star collapse overlapped with the northeast Pacific’s record-breaking 2014-2016 marine heatwave. Warmer water stressed kelp forests, sea-urchin numbers exploded, and otters temporarily ...

When sea stars fall, sea otters rise: Sea otters benefit from prey boom triggered by loss of ochre sea stars. ScienceDaily . Retrieved June 11, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2025 ...

In the sweltering sea temperatures, kelp forests declined, kelp-eating sea urchin numbers exploded, and sea otters shifted their diet toward sea urchins. Later, the sea otters pivoted again ...

Purple Sea Urchin, strongylocentrotus purpuratus, California. Sea Urchin. Image by slowmotiongli via Depositphotos. The kelp forests supports populations of sea urchins which is among sea otters ...

When sea otters returned to islands along Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests revive. These forests had been wiped out by unchecked sea urchin populations. However, ...

Sea otters are the smallest marine mammals, but they have some incredible adaptations to thrive in the ocean. Unlike seals and whales, they don’t have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm.

After missing from the Oregon coast for more than a century, sea otters are getting a step closer to staging a comeback. Local tribes and nonprofits have received a $1.56 million grant to lead the ...

After missing from the Oregon coast for more than a century, sea otters are getting a step closer to staging a comeback. Local tribes and nonprofits have received a $1.56 million grant to lead the ...