Sea Otters: The Cutest Solution to Climate Change

#kpassionate #seaotter #climatechange
Sea otters are something known as a keystone species. Which are species that play a critical role in maintaining the stability and health of their environment. It’s just like a keystone in an arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure of any of the other stones, without it the entire arch would collapse. This is exactly what happened between the years 1741 and 1911, Sea otters were hunted extensively for their fur, and their population fell from hundreds of thousands to just one to two thousand individuals living in a fraction of their historic range. In fact, so few otters remained that most scientists believed the species would become extinct.

This had a devastating effect on the marine ecosystem. And it had everything to do with a sea otter’s impressive metabolism. They need to 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 more than 600 million tonnes of carbon. Twice the amount of carbon the UK emits every year. Kelp forests are some of the most productive and dynamic forests on Earth. 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 has a direct impact on climate change because the presence of sea otters… increased the annual carbon storage of these forests from 4.4 to 8.7 megatons. That’s the equivalent of removing 3 to 6 million passenger cars from the road.

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 climate change.

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/

Join the KPassionate channel to learn more about sea otters and gain access to perks:
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