Scientists have made an interesting discovery connecting sea otters to forest recovery, reinforcing their role as a keystone species. The researchers were then able to identify patterns, explaining ...

A southern sea otter with a purple sea urchin in Monterey Bay, California. (Credit: Morgan Rector) (CN) — Sea otters are voracious eaters, munching away on shellfish, urchins and other invertebrates ...

The loss of one iconic species, sunflower sea stars, unleashed a voracious eater of seagrass habitats and upended the coastal ...

When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of islands in Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests return to areas that were destroyed by sea urchins. But how ...

Sea otters play a vital role in their ecosystems by controlling sea urchin populations. Without otters, urchins can overgraze kelp forests, causing widespread destruction. By keeping urchins in check, ...

Keystone species play an outsized role in the ecosystem, affecting the natural balance in ways that cannot easily be replaced.

After missing from the Oregon coast for more than a century, sea otters are getting a step closer to staging a comeback. Local tribes and nonprofits have received a $1.56 million grant to lead the ...

New research led by Monterey Bay Aquarium reveals a surprising ripple effect in coastal ecosystems: the collapse of one marine predator can benefit another. Published today in the journal Science ...

A recent boom in the purple sea urchin population off the southern Oregon Coast appears to have had an indirect and negative impact on the gray whales that usually forage in the region, a new study ...