Humans have an unlikely ally in the fight against global
warming: sea otters. According to a new study out of the
University of California Santa Cruz, the playful, foraging
mammals play a vital role in managing kelp forests, which in
turn are capable of absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide.
Sea otters prey on sea urchins, which, unchecked, can ravage
kelp forests, but thriving sea otter populations help keep the
urchins in check. The study looked at 40 years of otter and kelp
data from Vancouver Island to the Western Aleutian Islands in
Alaska. The researchers found that in areas where otters
flourished, so too did kelp. In fact, the kelp was able to
absorb 12 times more carbon in areas that were not overrun by
sea urchins. Giant kelp can grow as tall as 30 meters and kelp
forests are provide important habitat for a number of fish
species, including blue sharks. "Right now, all the climate
change models and proposed methods of sequestering carbon ignore
animals," one of the study‚Äôs lead authors, profes