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Sea otters are one of the smallest marine mammals. The adult sea otters are between 46 and 64 pounds. Sea otters rely on their water resistant fur to keep them warm in the cold weather because sea otters don’t have that much subcutaneous fat. During oil spills the fur loses its insulating properties. This can lead to hypothermia which can lead to death. Sea otters also maintain a great level of inner heat production to make up for not having fat.

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When gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are trapped in the atmosphere it creates a change in the climate.  Carbon dioxide is released in the air from pollution of power plants and cars. When too much CO2 goes into the environment, climate change goes into effect.

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Kelp forests are one of the best plants for absorbing carbon dioxide; this is also where sea otters live. Kelp forests during photosynthesis withdraw CO2 from the atmosphere just like land-based plants.They convert the carbon dioxide to energy to build up their structure. Kelp forests that are sustained by the sea otters take in 12 times as much CO2 than kelp forests that allows the urchins to eat the kelp.

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Kelp forests are in danger of the sea urchins because with no animals that will hunt them they will multiply and eat all the kelp.Therefore, when the urchins eat the kelp, the CO2 is not absorbed and will instead go into the environment. When too much CO2 goes into the environment, climate change goes into effect. Thankfully sea otters love to eat sea urchins. Otters keep the sea urchin populations steady, letting the kelp absorb more carbon dioxide.

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Sea otters' role in their environment has a great effect on other species. Since the sea otters are top predators in their ecosystem they are essential for preserving the stability of the nearshore ecosystems. Some nearshore ecosystems could be embayments, estuaries, and kelp forests.

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Sea otters' biggest threat are humans. They are their biggest threat because they get stuck in fishing nets, shootings, and being hit by boats. Other threats to sea otters include disease, pollution, and most importantly oil spills.

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During the 1741-1911 fur trade and the peak of hunting, almost 15,000 sea otters died during 1804 and 1807. Sea otters then got additional protection from the Marine Mammal Protection Act and from the Endangered Species Act. But the sea otters still are in danger of their primary threat which is an oil spill. In order for otters to be removed from the Endangered Species Act the population would have to be greater than 3,090 for three years in a row.

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ADOPT A SEA OTTER

When someone adopts a sea otter they are helping inform people about all of the threats to sea otters. Some threats can be oil spills and hunters. When you adopt you are also helping fishing communities and sea otters harmonize together. Your adoption also helps educate people about how important it is to protect sea otters, continue protecting sea otters from their threats to oil spills, and so the fishing industry live in harmony with sea otters.

ADOPT NOW

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Your adoption supports our work to educate people about the need to protect sea otters, continue our efforts to protect sea otters from the threat of oil spills, and help local communities and the fishing industry live in harmony with these animals.

Sea otter Photo: Jo Ricchiuti

Sea otters are known to drape kelp over their floating bodies or "hold hands" with each other to keep from drifting away while they rest. Sea otters play a crucial role as a keystone species and are critical to maintaining the balance of the near-shore kelp ecosystems, but they are threatened by habitat degradation, entanglement, vessel strikes, and oil spills.

Sea otters were once abundant, but were hunted to near extinction for their fur. Even though they are protected from such reckless killing today, they continue to face numerous threats to their survival.

One of the largest threats sea otters face is from infectious disease caused by toxic pollutants and disease-causing parasites because of runoff in coastal waters. This and other forms of habitat degradation have also forced sea otter populations to expand further out into open waters where they are more vulnerable to predation by sharks. Sea otters also often come into to conflict with humans who fish in the areas where otters hunt for their food. This results in injuries and death from entanglements and vessel strikes.

Sea otters are also especially susceptible to oil spills from offshore drilling or shipping. When sea otters encounter oil, it causes their fur to mat, which prevents it from insulating their bodies. Without this natural protection from the frigid water, sea otters can quickly die from hypothermia. The toxicity of oil can also be harmful to sea otters, causing liver and kidney failure as well as severe damage to their lungs and eyes.

Your adoption supports our work to educate people about the need to protect sea otters, continue our efforts to protect sea otters from the threat of oil spills, and help local communities and the fishing industry live in harmony with these animals.

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Sea otters are known to drape kelp over their floating bodies or "hold hands" with each other to keep from drifting away while they rest. Sea otters play a crucial role as a keystone species and are critical to maintaining the balance of the near-shore kelp ecosystems, but they are threatened by habitat degradation, entanglement, vessel strikes, and oil spills.

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I chose this topic because I think it is interesting how animals can have an impact on the environment. It's weird to think that a small creature can have such an effect on things and can make the world a much better place to live. I also like sea otters.

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1. https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/southern-sea-otter/#:~:text=Listed%20as%20threatened%20under%20the,the%20Marine%20Mammal%20Protection%20Act.&text=Availability%20of%20prey%2C%20entanglement%20in,contaminants%2C%20disease%2C%20shark%20predation.

2. https://www.kqed.org/quest/65409/sea-otters-urchins-kelp-climate-change#:~:text=Climate%20change%20is%20the%20result,trapping%20gases%20in%20our%20atmosphere.&text=According%20to%20a%20recent%20study,Urchins%20along%20the%20seafloor.

3. https://www.fws.gov/ventura/endangered/species/info/sso.html

4. https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/researcher-sea-otters-help-to-slow-climate-change/