Science
Related: About this forumStudy: Sea otters' role in kelp forest health could aid in global warming prevention
Monterey Bay's main mascot may turn out to be a secret agent in the fight against climate change.
It has long been known that sea otters, nursed back from brink of extinction in the past several decades, provide huge benefits for the vitality of undersea kelp forests. But a pair of UCSC scientists recently found that those benefits extend into the atmosphere, finding a strong connection between otters, kelp and global warming.
"We just looked at the question, 'Does it matter?'" said James Estes, a UCSC biologist. "And the answer was yes."
In a paper published in the October issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Estes and UCSC environmental studies professor Chris Wilmers found that if otters covered the globe, the resulting growth in kelp forests would strip 10 percent of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
full: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/nationalbreaking/ci_21528927/study-sea-otters-role-kelp-forest-health-could
freshwest
(53,661 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)We kill them at our own risk.
longship
(40,416 posts)Especially if it helps global climate. All the more reason.
21st Century headline: US West Coast Crushed by Massive Otter Incursions
Hestia
(3,818 posts)harmonicon
(12,008 posts)I can't think of a single downside.
Peepsite
(113 posts)harmonicon
(12,008 posts)defacto7
(13,485 posts)on a science forum where it's seriously considered science and not trolled over by denialists.
I'm regular on the phys.org site and in there lies madness.
Beautiful creatures, Sea Otters. May they have the support they need to continue to be climates helpers.