The loss of one iconic species, sunflower sea stars, unleashed a voracious eater of seagrass habitats and upended the coastal ecosystem. But the response has opened new business opportunities.
Articles on Sea otters
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A broad review of shark research shows that sharks play critical roles in keeping ocean ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds healthy.
A few marine mammals in apparent revolt pushed meme-makers into overdrive. But a scholar who thinks about justice and human-animal relations suggests something deeper is behind the schadenfreude.
New research finds that ‘leaky mitochondria’ help keep sea otters warm.
Protecting forests and wetlands, which absorb and store carbon, is one way to slow climate change. Scientists are proposing similar treatment for marine animals that help store carbon in the oceans.
Sea otters can break the shell on a shellfish by hitting it against a stone resting on their belly. This can look like clapping. Some even have a favourite stone they carry around in their armpits.
New research suggests otters’ learning ability could help captive animals to thrive in the wild.
The world’s oceans are home to innumerable life forms, from sponges to sea lions, and scientists have many creative ways of studying them.
Sea otters had been absent from this Alaskan national park for at least 250 years. By marrying math and statistics, scientists map this animal’s successful comeback.
Understanding this will boost conservation efforts.
Top contributors
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Honorary Lecturer, University of Exeter
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Assistant Unit Leader, U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Associate Professor, Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Statistics, Colorado State University
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Adjunct Research Associate, Monash University
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Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, University of Exeter
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Postdoctoral Fellow in Statistics and Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
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Senior Vice President and Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
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Executive Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education and Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida International University
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Associate Professor of Marine Biology, University of Alaska Southeast
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Associate Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, University of California, San Diego
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Regents Professor, Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University
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Assistant Professor, Ohio University
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Professor of Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology; Director of the Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara