The increased sea otter population in Elkhorn Slough also brought many ecosystem benefits, documented in other studies, which helped restore the degraded estuary — a vital spawning habitat for many fish species and an important part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds.
How have the otters helped in Elkhorn Slough?
Seagrass in the Elkhorn Slough estuary. When the otters first moved into the slough in the 1980s, they put their big appetites to work eating crabs. With fewer crabs to prey on them, the California sea hares – a sea slug – grew larger and became more abundant.
What happened to the sea otters in California?
Centuries ago, sea otters could be seen on the coastline of the entire northern Pacific Rim, from Baja California to Alaska and Japan. But the 18th and 19th century fur trade almost wiped out the densely furry mammals.
Are there otters at Elkhorn Slough?
It’s common to see sea otter mother and pups in the Elkhorn Slough. Our protected waters make for a perfect refuge. For the first time ever, a sea otter pup birth was witnessed in the wild by researchers in May of 2011.
What started the chain reaction in Elkhorn Slough?
Hughes and his colleagues documented a remarkable chain reaction that began when sea otters started moving back into Elkhorn Slough in 1984.
What problems do otters cause?
Unlike beavers and muskrats, otters are unlikely to cause structural damage to a pond or stormwater basin. The main issue they pose, however, is fish predation. Otters, like human anglers, like to catch and eat large trophy fish.
How are sea otters being helped?
Sea otters have been protected by the International Fur Seal Treaty since 1911. This treaty between U.S., Russia, Japan, and Great Britain was established to ban large-scale commercial hunting of sea otters and fur seals and to allow their populations to recover. Since then, sea otter numbers have increased.
What caused the sea otter collapse?
Based on these findings, we concluded that nutritional stress, disease, and contaminants are not likely drivers of the decline, but that there is substantial support for the hypothesis of increased predation on sea otters as the probable cause.
What’s killing California’s sea otters house cats?
Studies over the past two decades established that rain can wash Toxoplasma from land to sea, where the parasite accumulates in the kelp forests that otters love. Although Toxoplasma may be best known as a feline parasite, researchers have hesitated to blame domesticated cats for the deaths of sea otters.
What caused the decline and near extinction of sea otters along the California coast?
Southern sea otters, also known as California sea otters, live in the waters along the central California coastline. Historically, sea otters numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the North Pacific Ocean, but due to the fur trade, their numbers plummeted in the early 1900s.
Where are the otters in Elkhorn Slough?
1. Elkhorn Slough at Moss Landing
- Near the dunes on Moss Landing State Beach, there’s a cove where sea otters love to hang out, diving for clams and mussels and coming back to the surface to enjoy their meal.
- The otters also frequent the Moss Landing Harbor, thanks to its quiet, protected water and ample food sources.
How many sea otters are in Elkhorn Slough?
Reserve Otter Monitoring Project (ROMP)
You may have seen otters frolicking in the ocean off Cannery Row in Monterey, but did you know that the Elkhorn Slough, home to more than 120 otters is the only estuary significantly colonized by southern sea otters?
When can you see otters in Elkhorn Slough?
The Slough has abundant wildlife and birds year-round but since you asked: Spring and fall will bring more abundant birds as they migrate. Spring will also bring green hills, wildflowers and baby animals such as sea otters, harbor seals and nesting birds.
What is unique about Elkhorn Slough?
The Elkhorn Slough is a seasonal estuary rich with intertidal marshes, mudflats, eelgrass beds and oyster communities that nourish wildlife. More than 340 species of birds, 100 species of fish, including bat rays and leopard sharks, and more than 500 species of invertebrates have been documented in the watershed.
How is a chain reaction caused?
A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces neutrons, and the process repeats. The process may be controlled (nuclear power) or uncontrolled (nuclear weapons).
What animals live in the Elkhorn Slough?
Five threatened or endangered species are found at Elkhorn Slough: the California brown pelican, California least tern, Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, southern sea otter, and American peregrine falcon. Elkhorn Slough is one of the premier birdwatching sites in the western United States.
Why are otters bad for the environment?
While otters may prey on species threatened with extinction, they have also been observed consuming invasive species that compete with native species and degrade delicate habitats such as eel grass beds.
How do otters impact the environment?
Otters also have a pivotal role in river ecosystems. They are predators, meaning they help control the populations of food species they prey upon. This affects the ecosystem as a whole, and as a result, their presence is a signal that the ecosystem is healthy.
What happens when you remove sea otters from the ecosystem?
As top predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of nearshore ecosystems, such as kelp forests, embayments and estuaries. Without sea otters, sea urchins can overpopulate the sea floor and devour the kelp forests that provide cover and food for many other marine animals.
Why should sea otters be reintroduced to this ecosystem?
Reintroducing sea otters to areas where they historically lived but are currently absent could help restore functioning coastal ecosystems by enhancing ecosystem resilience, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and resilience to the effects of climate change.
What species benefit from sea otters?
The conservation and protection of sea otters is utterly important to conversely benefit the surrounding organisms such as kelp, urchins, whales and sharks.