which of the following is not part of the trophic cascade resulting from otter loss? course hero

What happens when sea otters are removed from the food chain?

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.

What is the primary cause for otter population loss?

Senior environmental scientist Mike Harris of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said the study showed high mortality rates are likely the biggest contributor to the population decline — and the No. 1 cause of death was great white shark bites.

What role do otters play in the food chain?

Ecological Role - The river otter is a predator at the top of the aquatic food chain. It plays an important role in the nutrient cycle by transferring nutrients from one ecosystem to another.

How do sea otters affect the food chain?

Thus, sea otters control the abundance of crabs and crabs control the abundance of seagrass in their oceanic ecosystem. However, human affects have altered some top down and bottom up controls on this community. Some of the top down anthropogenic affects include hunting of the top predators.

What caused the loss of sea otters along the coasts of Washington state and Oregon?

And by 1900, the commercial fur trade had dried up for the simple fact that there were so few sea otters left to hunt. While few pockets of sea otters remained in Alaska and southern California, here in Oregon, sea otters had been wiped out.

What would happen if otters went extinct?

Without sea otters, these grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival. Additionally, kelp forests protect coastlines from storm surge and absorb vast amounts of harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

What trophic level are otters?

third trophic levelThey are at the third trophic level. In a desert ecosystem, a secondary consumer may be a snake that eats a mouse. In the kelp forest, sea otters are secondary consumers that hunt sea urchins.

What change in the environment almost led to the extinction of sea otters?

While the recovery is considered one of the greatest successes in marine conservation, sea otters are classified as endangered, still vulnerable to many anthropogenic threats, including oil spills, poaching, commercial fishing, and climate change.

What is the role of the sea otter as a keystone species in the giant kelp forest?

The presence of sea otters can protect a kelp forest. They eat large amounts of sea urchins, which keeps the creature's numbers in check and prevents the destruction of the kelp forest. Sea otters are a keystone species of the coastline ecosystem.

What happens in a trophic cascade?

trophic cascade, an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain, which often results in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling.

What effect of the disappearance of the otters on the diet of the glaucous winged gulls?

As a result of the disappearance of the otters and loss of the kelp forests, the diet of the glaucous-winged gulls shifted from fish to invertebrates.

What happens to the ecosystem of the sea otters are not present?

The sea otter ecosystem is largely made up of thick kelp forests. Within these forests, sea otters prey on sea urchins, which graze heavily on kelp. If sea otters are not present, then urchin populations boom, which leads to overgrazing — killing all the kelp — and creating a wasteland known as an urchin barren.

Key Terminology

See more on treehugger.com

Where Do Trophic Cascades occur?

Trophic Cascades in Terrestrial Ecosystems

Trophic Cascades in Aquatic Ecosystems