Also hedgehogs are often found in coastal waters. Sea otters aren’t just cute ... Dr M Sanjayan, reveal how sea otters eat sea urchins which would otherwise devour the kelp and disrupt the rich web of life that relies on it. In the same way that you can eat many things but might prefer to eat pizza, otters are known to be generalists in their diets. Question: Consider The Following Food Chain: Sea Otters Eat Urchins And Urchins Eat Kelp. In The Ecological World, This Phenomenon Is Best Referred To As: A. (see also answer to What is an organism that is predator and prey to the same animal?) Sea otters eat a seafood smorgasbord: clams, mussels, chitons, snails, prawns, crabs, abalone, sea urchins, squid, sea star legs and in some areas, several species of fishes. I will adapt here from answer to What is the most formidable natural predator under 100 pounds of all time? Photograph: Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images. Urchins typically range in size from 3 to 10 cm (1 to 4 in), although the largest species can reach up to 36 cm (14 in). If no otters are present to hunt them sea urchins, they will breed out of control and eat the whole forest. They certainly do eat a lot, however – in order to maintain their body heat, they have a very high metabolic rate. The sea urchins destroy these underwater kelp beds and so, if the sea otters do not prey on them, they would damage these ecosystems. They leave behind desolate areas called urchin barrens. This species is also considered to be the largest member of the Mustelid family, and this is because these mammals can grow to a length of 6 feet. avoid food partners which overwhelm – sea urchins’ taste is delicate – scrambled eggs do well in this respect This discouraged players from killing otters for their drop: fur. Ways of eating sea urchins. And sea urchins eat kelp. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Sea Otters typically eat amphibians, smaller fish, mollusks, mussels, snails, and smaller underwater creatures. Giant river otters. Otter populations are growing in Southeast Alaska, Katchemak Bay … And kelp forests provide homes to lots of small marine creatures, including crabs. Sea urchins are sought out as food by birds, sea stars, cod, lobsters, and foxes.In the northwest, sea otters are common predators of the purple sea urchin. Sure! Sea otters that regularly eat the purple sea urchin are easily detected — their bones and teeth turn sea-urchin purple! At last! Do Sea Otters Eat Sea Urchins, Amazing Sea, Do Sea Otters Eat Sea Urchins Did you know? Sea otters are another predator of urchins in the kelp forests. The meat is used to breed the otters. When You Remove The Sea Otter, Urchins Overpopulation And The Kelp Is Over Consumed. Sea otter predation on the purple sea urchin helps protect kelp forests from destruction. When otters are around, sea urchins hide in crevices and eat kelp scraps. By eating sea urchins, the sea otter helps in conserving the kelp forests, one of the world’s most productive ecosystems. where do sea otters live? In Italy the season for sea urchins is mid November to the end of April. They have a rigid, usually spherical body bearing moveable spines, which gives the class the name Echinoidea (from the Greek ekhinos, spine). But they eat enough to drop numbers significantly. He says otters do not remove all sea urchins. A large number of sea urchins live on coral reefs. Comparing kelp density with otters and kelp density without otters, they found that "sea otters have a positive indirect effect on kelp biomass by preying on sea urchins, a kelp grazer." She disappears below the surface. It all started with the sea otters, beginning in the 1980’s, sea otters throughout the Aleutian Islands began to disappear. Sea urchins eat kelp and when killed drop their shells (can be placed as an entity on the ground) and sea urchin meat. A lot of sea otter research focuses on kelp. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. “Hi! sea otters can hold there breath up to seven minutes. “You want to look at the three trophic levels: sea otters eat urchins, sea urchins eat kelp.” the importance of being a sea otter: In the presence of sea otters, sea urchin populations are controlled, which allows for kelp forests to grow (left). Otters feed on sea urchins, which in turn keeps them from overgrazing on kelp. In places where sea otters have disappeared, sea urchins will eat the kelp forest until it’s gone. While it may seem strange to eat the spiny and seemingly-dangerous sea urchin, it’s actually considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Sea otters dive to rocky reefs, where they collect invertebrates and also a large rock. Some people handle sea urchins without gloves because you have to … Deeper and deeper she goes, looking for her favorite dish. Photo by Matt Knoth/Flickr It will then eat everything except the spines (the insides). They also eat mussels, abalone, clams, scallops, crabs, snails, chitons, octopus and squid! The most important criterion for the living of sea urchins is the salinity of water, they are not found in the salty seas (Black Sea, Caspian and part of the Baltic Sea). Sea otters eat crab, prawns, mussels, clams, squid, sea star legs, but sea otters mostly eat sea urchins.Sea otters eat 25% of there body weight everyday. Never heard of them? Anything that is small and has a shell is fair game. A two-year-old sea otter is starving! So when otters keep the population of urchins down, kelp forests expand. Sea otters, which can eat nearly 1,000 sea urchins a day, have seen their numbers along Alaska’s Aleutian Islands shrink by 90 percent in recent decades. What Do Giant River Otters Eat? They found that otters "undoubtedly have a strong influence" on the cycle of CO2 storage. Sea otters’ diet includes sea urchins, crabs, mussels, and clams, which they’re known to crack open with a rock and eat while floating in the water. By controlling the size and number of sea urchins (sea urchins are one of their favorite foods, and they eat the larger ones first), sea otters created the opportunity for kelp to grow and flourish, which in turn created habitat for numerous other kelp forest dwellers. Sea otters use their sense of touch to find food; diving sea otters feel for food along the ocean floor with their sensitive front paws. Without otters, the implication is that we would cease to have kelp forests at all. 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