A southern sea otter with a purple sea urchin in Monterey Bay, California. (Credit: Morgan Rector) (CN) — The kelp forests along the coast of California have been under attack by purple sea urchins, ...

Researchers examining a century of ocean maps made an exciting discovery linking sea otter populations to kelp forests: Where sea otters thrive, so do these critical underwater habitats.

Despite their low numbers, sea otters consume voracious kelp-eating sea urchins at a high enough rate that kelp forests continue to persist and provide habitat for numerous species. Without sea ...

It’s estimated that 90% of kelp forests have been lost to the urchins ... Luckily, [RobotGrrl] designed just the tool for this task: Otter Force One, an autonomous underwater robot that can ...

South of the San Francisco Bay, however, healthier kelp forests still coat the coasts and give life to California's iconic sea otters. At Fort Ross Cove, the scientists unraveled these inoculated ...

Scientists have been able to study the complicated relationship between the otters, kelp and shellfish that exists in the healthy habitats." Sea otters are the smallest of the marine mammals ...

South of the San Francisco Bay, however, healthier kelp forests still coat the coasts and give life to California’s iconic sea otters. At Fort Ross Cove, the scientists unraveled these ...

HABITAT: Sea otters inhabit coastal waters, usually less than half a mile from shore. Their typical haunts include precipitous rocky shores, barrier reefs, tidewater stones, and dense kelp forests.

“Eating sea urchins is actually a way to help the kelp,” said Lamb, pointing to people who are “diving and collecting urchins ...

As a result, he realized there was a link between otters, sea urchins, and kelp forests. "In the absence of sea otters, you have a lot of sea urchins," Roman said. "When you have a lot of urchins ...