The Impact of Sea Otters on Coastal Ecosystems

Enter a kelp forest and explore the various threads that connect species together in food webs.

How do changes in the ecosystem effect the community? Enter an underwater forest of kelp and explore the various threads that connect species together that help maintain diversity and balance in food webs.

In addition to showcasing live footage from a unique ecosystem, each of the three videos in the Exploring Ecosystems series features an opportunity for students to actively participate in a problem-solving scenario based on an ongoing research project of Academy scientist Peter Roopnarine.

As you watch the video, be prepared to pause at key points to participate fully! Explore food webs through the kelp forest featuring sea otters (Enhydra lutris), sea urchins (Echinoidea), sea stars (Asteroidea), sunflower seastars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), abalone (Haliotidae), and other marine animals.

The Coastal Food Web video investigates the following questions:

How do you predict the effects of a change in the community’s populations on the community as a whole?

How will a change in an ecosystem affect energy flow, nutrient cycling, population growth, or community structure?

How will loss of an organism from a food chain or web affect flow of energy?

Check for Understanding

Describe two concrete examples of community interactions, being sure to describe the relationships between species.

Key Scientific Terms

community: two or more different species occupying the same geographical area and interacting in some way

ecosystem: the community of different species in a particular geographic area and all of their interactions with each other and the physical environment; ecosystems are also called ecological networks

herbivore: an animal that eats plants; also called a primary consumer

population: all the individuals of a particular species that live in a specific geographic area; a species may be made up of one or more populations

predator: an organism that hunts, catches, kills, and eats other animals

prey: an organism that is caught, killed and eaten by a predator
species: a distinct type of organism

Connections to High School Standards

AP Biology

LO 4.13: The student is able to predict the effects of a change in the community’s populations on the community.

(1) Interpreting graphs and other quantitative data that represent community and ecosystem interactions.

(2) Reading curves that represent community interactions (e.g., predator-prey) and using them to infer relationships between species.

(1) Working with ecological models and using them to predict how a change in an ecosystem will affect energy flow, nutrient cycling, population growth, or community structure.

(2) Predicting how loss of an organism from a food chain or web will affect flow of energy.

Next Generation Science Standards

DCI: LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter; Stability and Change; Systems and System Models
Science and Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking; Using Models

Related Reading

Food Webs Before the Impact http://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/food-webs-before-the-impact

In this Science News article, explore what killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Could it have been the health of ecosystems from 13 million to 2 million years prior to the impact?

Healthy Ecosystems Limit Disease in Humans and Wildlife https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/healthy-ecosystems-limit-disease-in-humans-and-wildlife

Ecosystem services in the form of food, water, shelter, and even medicines are key to our lives, but furthermore, studies have determined that diseases emerge from damaged environments. In this article learn how our human health depends on a healthy environment.

More from the Exploring Ecosystems Series

In this video series, students participate in problem-solving exercises as they explore how species interact with one another and their environment. While the coastal food web video covered kelp forests, the below tutorials discuss biodiversity and mutualistic relationships, respectively.

Exploring Ecosystems: Tropical Rainforest Diversity https://youtu.be/LHPuo0rwM1w

Trek through a tropical rainforest and explore the incredible diversity of species that call it home.

Exploring Ecosystems: Coral Reef Symbiosis https://youtu.be/-EUUEPinEcQ

Dive beneath the ocean waves and explore the unique and diverse relationships found on a coral reef.

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The video explores coastal food webs and focuses on the interaction between kelp, sea urchins, and sea otters.

Sea otters are considered keystone species as they protect kelp forests by controlling the sea urchin population.

Other predators like sunflower stars also play a role in the food web, and otters prefer abalone and crabs as their prey.

Explore coastal food webs, focusing on the role of sea otters in protecting kelp forests and maintaining ecosystem balance.

A food web represents the transfer of energy in an ecosystem or community through predator-prey interactions.

The marine ecosystem off the coast of California is a diverse food web with numerous interconnected species.

Energy flows through the food web, and everything in the ecosystem depends on it.

Dive into the coastal food webs of California and understand the transfer of energy through diverse interactions in an ecosystem.

The coastal ecosystem supports a diverse range of species and is influenced by small changes.

Sea otters are a keystone species that stabilize sea urchin and kelp populations.

The removal of sea otters would impact the flow of energy through the ecosystem.

Explore the coastal food web in California. Sea otters play a crucial role as a keystone species, stabilizing the populations of sea urchins and kelp.

The removal of a keystone species, like sea otters, has cascading effects on populations and disrupts the flow of energy in coastal food webs.

Understanding ecosystems and the connections between species in food webs can guide conservation efforts and sustain diverse networks of life.

Exploring Coastal Food Webs and their Impact on Ecosystems: A Conservation Perspective.

Exploring Ecosystems: Coastal Food Webs | California Academy of Sciences

Discover the importance of sea otters in coastal ecosystems and their role in maintaining balance, focusing on kelp forests.

The Impact of Sea Otters on Coastal Ecosystems

Discover the importance of sea otters in coastal ecosystems and their role in maintaining balance, focusing on kelp forests.

00:00:06 Explore coastal food webs, focusing on the role of sea otters in protecting kelp forests and maintaining ecosystem balance.

00:01:12 Dive into the coastal food webs of California and understand the transfer of energy through diverse interactions in an ecosystem.

00:02:15 Explore the coastal food web in California. Sea otters play a crucial role as a keystone species, stabilizing the populations of sea urchins and kelp.

00:03:19 Exploring Coastal Food Webs and their Impact on Ecosystems: A Conservation Perspective.

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