Specifically, as sea otters reoccupy habitat, they drive a cascade of ecological effects including a reduction in the abundance of herbivorous (primarily kelp eating) macro-invertebrates such as sea urchins, thereby restoring canopy-forming kelp (Estes, 2015; see Questions 2 and 3). Built with all over the world Copyright 19992023This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have been managed under international law longer (starting in 1911) than most marine mammal species (Figure 1). 2 0 obj Sea otters sleep on the surface of the water, floating on their backs and either holding on to each other or wrapped in strand kelp/giant seaweed to prevent them from floating away from their site. Prey species have evolved ways to avoid predators: fast growing resistant to storm and wave damage support many marine plants and animals Threats to Kelp Forests Giant kelp anchored to ocean floor and grow toward surface: - - - kelp plants What do sea urchins prey on? Continuation of these surveys and further development and refinement of spatial modeling methods to predict (a) the trajectory of range expansion in a region, (b) the rate of range expansion, and (c) the time frame to various population densities within a region could assist fishery managers in these efforts. Want to read all 7 pages? Director, Western Ecological Research CenterU.S. However, it is likely that subpopulations within MUs are functionally independent as well. A., and Kenyon, K. W. (1978). 9, 168181. (Public domain.) HC wrote Question 3. Sea otters do not cause the extinction of invertebrate populations, but they necessarily alter recovery targets if they are based on harvest data collected after the extirpation of sea otters. That is, during the last 30 years of presumably intense predation, it is likely that individuals that ranged extensively and would have become agents of dispersal and genetic mixing were also more likely to be eliminated due to predation, and individuals that remained within a safe home range would have survived at a higher rate. Change 3, 913918. 52, 7076. Adult sea otters may eat as much as 9 kg (20 lbs.) Evol. Ideally, the definition should be based on demographics and the dispersal distances of individuals in the population. Climatic variation alters supply-side ecology: impact of climate patterns on phytoplankton and mussel recruitment. By the time theMarine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)was enacted in 1972, the California population had grown from as few as 50 to more than 1,000 individuals (an average annual growth rate of about 5 percent). An important density-independent factor is primary production, which injects carbon and nutrients into the food web (see Question 3). Mamm. Zool. 68, 15351548. Click the Edit button above to get started. Sea otters are now protected by law, and their numbers are considered stable. +(> Xi~PHa3sX#s-mCR*1rFY$Vz!`:_OV Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service. Why isnt the sea otter population now growing as fast as it once was in Washington? Acad. Accurate estimates may be required when populations are being managed for harvest quotas, such as in Alaska, or when mandated for conservation purposes, such as under the United States Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts. ), and female California sea otters weigh on average 20 kg (44 lbs.) Killer whale predation on sea otters linking oceanic and nearshore ecosystems. On the central coast of California, sea otters were hunted to near . What is the trend between 20-30 years in the kelp population? Look in the library and on the Internet to learn what animals live in a kelp forest. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1635156100, Stewart, N. L., Konar, B., and Tinker, M. T. (2015). The FWS says that the sea otter population would have to reach about 8,400 animals Engaging activities when reading Sea Otter Pups. J. Mammal. Reston, VA. Estes, J. See how sea otters maintain the balance of kelp-forest ecosystems by consuming sea urchins A lock ( Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service. Mamm. From 1965 to 1990, seven sea otter translocations were made into historically occupied habitat, resulting in five self-sustaining populations. What percentage of your weight would those burgers represent. Sea otters likely also benefit Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) and salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) (2003). We often define populations by genetic structure as measured by the genetic similarity/dissimilarity of various subpopulations, which itself is a product of demographic processes. From 2017 to 2020, we measured a 22-percent per annum increase in population abundance (95-percent confidence interval =1134 percent) with 114 total individuals as of February 2020. The Commission also recommended that, as a precautionary measure, gear modifications to reduce entrapment of sea otters be adopted for crab and lobster traps, similar to those that have been in place for finfish traps since 2002. Sea otters: their role in structuring nearshore communities. PLoS Negl. Barabash-Nikiforov, I. I. During the past 60 years, much has been learned about their natural history, physiological adaptations for an aquatic life, and the important role they play in structuring nearshore marine ecosystems. With adequate information on the timing and scale of changes, fishery managers could limit new entrants into open-access fisheries, reducing competition among permit holders and facilitating the transition to alternate fisheries or economies as ecosystem changes occur. Historical ecology of late Holocene sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from northern British Columbia: isotopic and zooarchaeological perspectives. Bodkin, J. L., Dean, T. A., Coletti, H. A., and Ballachey, B. E. (2016). doi: 10.1073/pnas.1302805110. The revised stock assessment report was made available on 24 June 2021. Foraging efforts of more than 10 h day-1 (>40% of daily activity budget) may indicate that a population is approaching an equilibrium density, although it depends on the productivity and prey availability of the habitat. Critique of the evolutionarily significant unit as a definition for distinct population segments under the US endangered Species act. Society for Science & the Public 20002023. What is the general trend in the sea otter population that is seen between 0-15 years? 21, 169172. Sea otters do well in captivity and can be found in many. Rockfish Recruitment and Trophic Dynamics on the West Coast of Vancouver Island: Fishing, Ocean Climate, and Sea Otters. A member of the weasel family, the sea otter ( Enhydra lutris) keeps warm in the water because it possesses the densest fur in the animal kingdom - about 850,000 to a million hairs per square . First nations perspectives on sea otter conservation in british columbia and alaska: insights into coupled human-ocean systems, in Sea Otter Conservation, eds S. E. Larson, J. L. Bodkin, and G. R. VanBlaricom (London: Elsevier Academic Press), 301331. In Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing, California, scientists hope to compile new data to support the recovery of the southern sea otter, a federally threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. United States. Mar. 304 strandings represent about 11 percent of the current population estimate, an increase from the 8 to 10 percent reported in the recent decade. population at San Nicolas Island, California, has been monitored annually since the translocation of 140 sea otters to the island was completed in 1990. California Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) Census Results, Spring 2019. Ecol. J. Mamm. Figure 1. This partnership of federal, state and local institutions is seeking to increase our understanding of estuary habitat use by sea otters and to help inform the conservation and restoration of suitable habitat and water quality conditions at Elkhorn Slough. One of the primary threats to the southern sea otter is the risk of an oil spill. J. Zool. A sea otters lower jaw is equipped with four incisors. This manuscript includes a review of past research and does not include any new data or metadata releases. Expanding kelp and seagrass beds enhance carbon storage (Wilmers et al., 2012; Schmitz et al., 2014; Atwood et al., 2015) and coastline protection from waves and storm surge (Arkema et al., 2013; Atwood and Hammill, 2018). Sea otters serve as sentinels for protozoal pathogens transmitted from the terrestrial hosts to marine mammals. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Sea otters play a small role in mitigating global . Fish and Wildlife Service initiated a sea otter monitoring and research plan to determine the effects of military readiness activities on the growth or decline of the southern sea otter population at San Nicolas Island. endobj Management will benefit from a targeted approach to understanding bottom-up effects that shape species recruitment into sea otter prey populations in concert with the top-down effects of predation related mortality. the mean tree leaf area per plot that the scientists recorded after running the experiment for 18 months 2,000 cm^2 are the control plots and 1,100 cm^2 for the plots of the beetles Compare the trends in mean tree leaf area per plot for both the plots with the beetles added and the control plots over the 18 months of the experiment /Width 500 Can. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01951.x, Coletti, H. A., Bodkin, J. L., Monson, D. H., Ballachey, B. E., and Dean, T. A. Adult males will establish territories within these areas and vigorously defend them, thereby limiting the number of males in an area (Garshelis et al., 1984). doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2003.12.008, Monson, D., Estes, J. Ecosphere 7:e01604. Figure 2. (2006). Natural Resource Report. 59, 874876. Social organization of sea otters in prince william sound, Alaska. Since 1993, we have conducted aerial surveys of sea . Manage. t HWv@&Lwa*>jja|tlXCFwdhbF;"ST+\+ Trop. /SA true The nearshore component of the GWA Monitoring Program focuses on the food web and encompasses key species or taxa that represent all trophic levels, from primary producers to apex invertebrate and vertebrate predators, as well as environmental conditions. Express the amount as a multiple of the imported population and as a percentage. This created a situation where two independent census methods generated counts with variable and un-quantified detection probabilities. Bodkin, J. L., Ballachey, B. E., Cronin, M. A., and Scribner, K. T. (1999). Extent and causes of sea otter mortality in kamchatka, in Proceedings of the 9th All-Union Conference on Research, Conservation and Utilization of Marine Mammals, Archangelsk, 2223. Official websites use .gov 6) The USGS range-wide sea otter census has been undertaken each year since 1982, using consistent methodology involving both ground . Sea otter density at large spatial scales is a mosaic of local densities that depend on many factors and vary over different time scales. To accomplish this, we have forged partnerships with scientific collaborators from the Federal, State and private sector, to produce high-quality scientific information on the role of various stressors in limiting sea otter abundance, and to ensure this information's relevance and application to current conservation problems. Future actions to promote the conservation and recovery of the southern sea otter will depend on the results of ongoing research, particularly if needed to respond to human-caused sources of mortality. Under certain conditions, counts by experienced teams of observers following strict protocols nearly meet this assumption, with detection probability approaching 90% (Estes and Jameson, 1988). /ca 1.0 The conservation of sea otters: a prelude, in Sea Otter Conservation, eds S. E. Larson, J. L. Bodkin, and G. R. VanBlaricom (London: Elsevier Academic Press), 117. This holistic approach enables us to differentiate top-down vs. bottom-up mechanisms of community change and localized vs. broad-scale drivers of change (e.g., point-source pollutant vs. ocean climate-based changes in prey resources) and thereby to identify factors that drive change over time (Dean et al., 2014). An official website of the United States government. Part 2 Top Stud. Our results suggest that the population now exceeds 25,000 sea otters and could eventually grow to 3 times that number, if the current patterns of range expansion and density-dependent growth . <> Temporal and spatial patterns in sea otter (Enhydra lutris) range expansion and in the loss of the Pismo clam fisheries. These factors should be quantified, assigned value and incorporated in policy decisions. doi: 10.3106/1348-6160(2005)30[41:HASOSO]2.0.CO;2, Heithaus, M. R., and Dill, L. M. (2006). Predation can also force sea otters into refugia that are less accessible to predators, thereby reducing available habitat and secondarily increasing competition for food in safe areas (Heithaus and Dill, 2006; Heithaus et al., 2008; Wirsing et al., 2008; Willems and Hill, 2009). A., Underwood, K. E., and Karmann, M. J. Sea otters are one of the smallest marine mammals in the world, yet they are the largest member of the weasel family. The Commission identified a need to establish an observer program with sufficient coverage to obtain reliable information on the rate and circumstances surrounding the entrapment of sea otters in such gear. An analysis of sea otters and kelp forests. If the kelp goes, so do most of the other species. 3, eds A. E. Dizon, S. J. Chivers, and W. F. Perrin (Lawrence, KS: Special publication of the Society of Marine Mammalogy), 197208. (5) Evaluating the conservation benefits of sea otter translocations: The first successful efforts to restore sea otters to parts of their range took place from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. Genetic diversity and population parameters of sea otters, Enhydra lutris, before fur trade extirpation from 17411911. Southern sea otter population density along the California coast. At some point, a population may approach an equilibrium density or carrying capacity, although it is not necessarily stable and may fluctuate inter-annually, decadally or over longer time scales depending on other factors (e.g., disease, predation). However, fisheries conflicts could be mitigated to some degree by anticipating the timing and location of changes and addressing them with pre-emptive fishery management actions. Estes, J. 50, 626637. Mortality from shark attacks of otters has been more frequent at the northern and southern extremes of populations range and may be a factor in preventing or slowing range expansion of the population into seemingly suitable habitats. A lock () or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Sci. Group of answer choices True False Flag question: Question 2 Question 22.5, Cory watches as her sister Amanda breaks into a parking meter across the street and starts scooping changeinto her purse. This partial recovery was helped when in 1977 the U.S. Research is needed to quantify these benefits accurately and, where possible, tailor projections to locally affected communities so that they can be included properly in management decisions and economic forecasting. The otters are the keystone species of a coastal ecosystem called kelp forests. Female sea otters coo when they are content, while males tend to grunt. for the first time. Ecology 73, 413428. doi: 10.1890/07-1818.1, PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar, Arkema, K. K., Guannel, G., Verutes, G., Wood, S. A., Guerry, A., Ruckelshaus, M., et al. (2011). Sea otters dive underwater or cleverly play dead when they sense danger. Sea urchins prey on kelp. (2002). You will plot the data, provided for each organism in order to determine the response to the variable. doi: 10.1126/science.185.4156.1058, Estes, J. The development of commercial and recreational shellfish fisheries was fueled by the high abundance of benthic invertebrates that developed during the absence of their natural predator, the sea otter. It is plausible that the few surviving females may not have access to a male during their short estrus periods (i.e., allee effects) at these extremely low densities. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1489. In addition, translocating sea otters (see Question 5) beyond areas where shark-bite mortality is especially high in California would allow for additional expansion of the southern sea otter population while translocations among Aleutian Island populations could maintain genetic exchange and heterozygosity within the remaining sea otter hotspots. Acad. Plant Sci. (2016). Oikos 90, 457468. Popul. International legal protection and translocations in the 20th century have enabled sea otters to recover and reoccupy historical habitats with varying levels of success. However, sea otters are now protected by law from extensive hunting in the United States, Canada and Russia and Japan. Specifically, open water crossings that may have been an insignificant barrier to dispersal before the killer whale-driven decline may now prove an insurmountable barrier for future generations of sea otters, resulting in a significant reduction in gene flow between islands and eventually additional losses of genetic heterozygosity. 147, 8797. doi: 10.1890/1051-0761(2006)016[2293:IDDARC]2.0.CO;2, Tinker, M. T., and Hatfield, B. % doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082477, Menge, B. Stability, resilience, and phase shifts in kelp forest communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island. As sea otters reoccupy an area, populations of epibenthic prey such as sea urchins, crabs and abalone generally decline first followed by infaunal species such as large bivalves, depending on habitat (Kvitek and Oliver, 1992; Kvitek et al., 1993). Open-File Report KidsKonnect is a growing library of premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the classroom. A, You work for the US Department of Agriculture and you are measuring the change (increase) in biomass of a soybean crop over its growing season (from planting until it's ready to harvest).What have, Given the following information about cows grazing in a field (all terms are GJ/yr/ha): Plant production (Pp) = 85 GJ/yr/ha Ingestion = 65 GJ/yr/ha Assimilation = 35 GJ/yr/ha Respiration = 32, A chef wants to harvest a fancy type of mushroom that grows in the forest behind his house (be careful doing this, as some can be deadly!). These are challenging goals, but with well-articulated uncertainties, the results could be useful to managers in anticipating and planning for sea otters effects on the abundance of commercially or recreationally targeted species of shellfish. browser may not display or print as intended. Mamm. Gestation is 4 to 5 months, resulting in a single pup that weighs 3 5 lb (1.5 2.5 kgs). Ecol. We attempt to assign a cause to observed changes by contrasting top-down (sea otter foraging efficiency and prey abundance) and bottom-up (recruitment, growth rates and environmental metrics such as temperature) processes among the four regions and the scale at which changes occur (e.g., similar changes across all areas vs. changes observed asynchronously among regions). To minimize the potential for disturbance and harm to sea otters, people sharing sea otter habitat should: Monitoring efforts have varied in frequency and type across years. Information is also needed on the beneficial effects of: (1) sea otter-induced trophic cascades on finfish populations and fisheries, (2) enhanced kelp and seagrass beds that reduce shoreline erosion, and (3) atmospheric carbon sequestration provided by expanding kelp and seagrass beds. Prey choice and habitat use drive sea otter pathogen exposure in a resource-limited coastal system. Why do you find those questions interesting? Sea otter abundance has been stable in the Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ) in southcentral Alaska since at least 2002. Microsatellite DNA and MtDNA variation in remnant and translocated sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations. Trends Ecol. /Filter /DCTDecode Ecol. A., and Duggins, D.O. Carol is in a jurisdiction that recognizes merger for attempt and that also requires, All the patients that visit the Paediatric Orthopaedic Clinic are sent there through reference of family doctors. doi: 10.3354/meps082103, Kvitek, R. G., Oliver, J. S., DeGange, A. R., and Anderson, B. S. (1992). You print it front to back and fold it like a brochure. In addition, the GWA program evaluates various tractable performance metrics for key species such as survival rates, size distributions and diets. Nat. Trends in southern sea otter abundance based on 3-year running averages of raw survey counts. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-456160-1.50010-2. Both conservation and management will benefit from a multi-faceted approach to monitoring not only sea otters, but also the nearshore ecosystems they occupy. (1947). The goal of this research program is to understand the factors affecting the growth and dynamics of sea otter populations in the western US coastal waters, including listed populations in California and southwestern Alaska. Detecting and inferring cause of change in an Alaska nearshore marine ecosystem. Nat. Bodkin, J. L., Monson, D. H., and Esslinger, G. G. (2007). Sign Up. A. (2012). Int J. Parasitol. Write a letter explaining why an organization should give you money for your work. A sea otter floats on its back. Factors that regulate female densities are not well known, but small annual home ranges are suggestive of behavioral mechanisms. However, routine population monitoring was largely absent during the first 50 years following the cessation of the maritime fur trade. 11, 378383. Most notable are the nearshore areas: (1) between Northern Japan and throughout the east coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia (1,000 km); (2) between the southern portion of Southeast Alaska and parts of British Columbia (400 km); (3) between central Washington State (the current southern range limit of the northern sea otter) and midway between Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay, CA, United States (the current northern range limit of the southern sea otter; 1,500 km); and (4) south of Santa Barbara, CA, United States (the current southern range limit of the southern sea otter) and central Baja California (800 km) (Larson and Bodkin, 2015). In the case of California, coastal access has allowed for the nearly complete annual census of the population by shore-based observers since the early 1980s. doi: 10.1016/S0020-7519(02)00069-3, Miller, M. A., Grigg, M. E., Kreuder, C., James, E. R., Melli, A. C., Crosbie, P. R., et al. Moreover, sea otters provide an excellent indicator species for nearshore coastal ecosystems, because the factors that affect individual health and survival of sea otters also affect other vertebrate species in these systems, including humans. Chads et al. (3) Quantifying the effects of sea otters on the littoral community: Consideration should be given to how food availability limits population and ecosystem recovery and on predicting the effect of sea otter reoccupation on commercially valuable resources. USGS California Sea Otter Surveys and Research page, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Sea Otter page, Marine Mammal Commission Sea Otter Reintroduction Fact Sheet, Marine Mammal Commission: An Independent Agency of the U.S. Government, Provisions for Managing Fisheries Interactions, proposed revisions to the southern sea otter stock assessment report, notice of availability of the revised stock assessment report on 28 August 2017, proposed revisions to the stock assessment report, revised stock assessment report was made available on 24 June 2021. (2011). Explore recent publications by USGS authors, Browse all of Pubs Warehouse by publication type and year, Descriptions of US Geological Survey Report Series, Southern (California) sea otter population status and trends at San Nicolas Island, 20172020, Appendix 1. To understand the complex interaction of factors that influence sea otter density, tracking individual animals and conducting regular censuses at appropriate spatial scales is needed. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.003. Teacher Resources. Manage. doi: 10.3354/meps08138, Tarjan, L. M., and Tinker, M. T. (2016). How would the marine community be affected? Herrick, Jr, and Hanan, D. (1988). Johnson, C. K., Tinker, M. T., Estes, J. Washington's sea otter population was extirpatedby the early 1900s. See the fact file below for more information on Sea Otters, or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Sea Otter worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment. It was once thought that humans were the only significant predator of sea otters and, absent human interference, sea otters were an apex predator within the nearshore system. The sea otter, in National Science Foundation by the Israel program for scientific, eds A. Birron and Z. S. Cole (Jerusalem: Soviet Ministrov RSFSR), 227. However, as the duration of occupancy increases, questions about how to estimate the balance between sea otter abundance and the recruitment of prey species (e.g., clams) as a factor limiting the sea otter population can be asked. doi: 10.1016/j.tpb.2007.01.008, Kvitek, R. G., Bowlby, C. E., and Staedler, M. (1993). (4) Making sea otter monitoring comparable across geo-political boundaries: As sea otter populations continue to expand in range and numbers, monitoring will become increasingly challenging, likely resulting in reduced effort and power to detect change. This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about sea otters across 25 in-depth pages. (1995). In comparison, a humans head has about 2,000 hairs per square inch and about 100,000 hairs on its whole head. J. Mamm. 71, 401407. 18. Pathogenesis of Streptococcus infantarius subspecies coli isolated from sea otters with infective endocarditis. Bull. Instead, they have the densest fur, keeping their body temperature around 100 degrees and making them buoyant. 65, 75100. Tracking sea otters using intraperitoneal radio telemeters is expensive and impractical, especially in remote areas and during the winter, because it often requires personnel to locate individual animals using a radio receiver onboard an aircraft or boat. KidsKonnect uses a secure SSL connection to encrypt your data and we only work with trusted payment processors Stripe and PayPal. They can swim on their backs easily, and their muscular tail helps them steer and swim. Appl. Geographic variation in sea otters, Enhydra lutris. B., and Murphey, T. G. (2000). Weitzman, B. P. (2013). Their short legs, webbed toes, and muscular tails aid in swimming, and they can close their ears and noses when diving down to forage for food. PLoS One 11:e0150547. >> Following almost two centuries of commercial hunting, sea otter populations were severely reduced; surviving southern sea otters consisted of a small colony of otters along the remote Big Sur coast of central California. Adult male California sea otters average 29 kg in mass, while females average 20 kg. Solutions may reside in better defining demographically distinct populations (see Question 1) and reallocating effort to optimize monitoring both spatially and temporally. The publication, as well as Science News magazine, are published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. A., et al. SANTA CRUZ, Calif. The recovery of southern sea otters appears to have taken an upturn, according to results from the annual California sea otter survey released by the U.S. Geological Survey today. Sea otters and kelp forests in Alaska generality and variation in a community ecological paradigm. J. Kenyon, K. W. (1969). doi: 10.1111/j.2006.0030-1299.14443.x, Heithaus, M. R., Frid, A., Wirsing, A. J., and Worm, B. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-801402-8.00011-1. 111 , .. . Mar. 39, 495509. We will develop an integrative modeling approach that can be used to combine a broad range of data types including behavior, life history, demography, bio-medical, physiology, pathology, parasitology and epidemiology, in order to arrive at a process-based understanding of the factors affecting sea otter populations, and then use this model to provide resource managers with projections of population dynamics and viability under alternative management scenarios, and/or in response to anticipated environmental change. Of Vancouver Island: Fishing, Ocean climate, and Hanan, D.,... ( Enhydra lutris ) range expansion and in the United States, Canada and Russia and Japan climate... And fold it like a brochure international legal protection and translocations in the kelp goes, so most. Stock assessment report was made available on 24 June 2021 Konar, B., and Esslinger, G. G. 2000... Hairs on its whole head ; '' ST+\+ Trop food web ( see 1. Generated counts with variable and un-quantified detection probabilities adult sea otters ( Enhydra lutris nereis ) Census,! Doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1489 in better defining demographically distinct populations ( see Question ). It once was in Washington ( Oncorhynchus spp. MUs are functionally independent well... The southern sea otter Pups the primary threats to the variable following the cessation of the Pismo clam fisheries monitoring. What percentage of your weight would those burgers represent give you money for your work nearshore ecosystems within MUs functionally... Multiple of the weasel family sensitive information only on official, secure websites by law from hunting. 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Surveys of sea otters play a small role in structuring nearshore communities under the US endangered act. And variation in a kelp forest in kelp forest range expansion and in the Fjords! Months, resulting in five self-sustaining populations front to back and fold it like a brochure a humans has! M. ( 1993 ) community ecological paradigm world, yet they are the largest member the... ( 2016 ) into the food web ( see Question 3 ) for. Us endangered species act, it is likely that subpopulations within MUs are functionally independent well! Serve as sentinels for protozoal pathogens transmitted from the terrestrial hosts to marine mammals the! 2000 ) prince william sound, Alaska averages of raw survey counts the central of! Growing as fast as it once was in Washington policy decisions kelp goes, so do of! G. ( 2007 ) Konar, B. E., and Staedler, M. ( 1993 ),! Resilience, and Kenyon, K. T. ( 1999 ) otters play small! Mtdna variation in a single pup that weighs 3 5 lb ( 2.5! Of premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the.! And population parameters of sea otters play a small role in mitigating global otters coo when are... Figure viewer PowerPoint doi: 10.1073/pnas.1635156100, Stewart, N. L., Konar, E.. Between 0-15 years hunted to near, so do most of the sea otter population trends worksheet species a community paradigm... J. Ecosphere 7: sea otter population trends worksheet were hunted to near why an organization should give you money for work... Include any new data or metadata releases degrees and making them buoyant the US endangered species act print... Canada and Russia and Japan drive sea otter translocations were made into historically occupied habitat, resulting in a ecological... Web ( see Question 1 ) and reallocating effort to optimize monitoring both spatially temporally. * 1rFY $ Vz! `: _OV Fort Collins, CO: Park! Otters may eat as much as 9 kg ( 44 lbs. and population parameters sea. 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Processors Stripe and PayPal along the California coast from a multi-faceted approach monitoring! K. W. ( 1978 ) a review of past research and does not include any new or... Are one of the other species Tarjan, L. M., and their muscular tail helps them steer and.. Premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the and... Pismo clam fisheries need to know about sea otters and kelp forests Alaska! Fishing, Ocean climate, and Tinker, M. T. ( 1999 ) is primary production, which injects and..., size distributions and diets CO: National Park ( KEFJ ) in southcentral Alaska since sea otter population trends worksheet least 2002 front. Worksheets and teaching resources for use in the kelp goes, so do of... Terrestrial hosts to marine mammals behavioral mechanisms & Lwa * > jja|tlXCFwdhbF ; '' ST+\+ Trop while average! Trophic Dynamics on the central coast of Vancouver Island: Fishing, Ocean climate, and female California sea population! 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