The sea urchin’s main predators are crabs, lobsters, starfish, eels, sea otters, birds, and a number of large fish. [59] Be Her Village. Sea otter predation on the purple sea urchin helps protect kelp forests from destruction. In places where sea otters have disappeared, sea urchins will eat the kelp forest until it’s gone. The two are directly related in that sea otters prey on sea urchins, which in turn can help foster kelp beds because urchins feast on kelp. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Sea urchins eat kelp’s in great abundance; when the population of sea urchins is controlled, kelp forests can flourish. PART OF WILD SKY MEDIA | FAMILY & PARENTING, Smithsonian: Otters: The Picky Eaters of the Pacific, Defenders of Wildlife: Basic Facts About Sea Otters, Friends of the Elephant Seal: California Sea Otter, Exploring Nature: Keystone Species - Sea Otter, Alaska Department of Fish & Game: River Otter (PDF). Sea otters are obligate carnivores which means they only eat meat items. And eat they do—with gusto. They hunt three to four times every day, relying primarily on their vision and touch. Otter Eating image by Dawn from Fotolia.com. Want to watch cute sea otters romp, wrestle and play every day of the year? When you see a sea urchin, you probably don't think that these spiny, scary-looking creatures are edible. He says otters do not remove all sea urchins. All these animals carry particular adaptations (teeth, pincers, claws) and a strength that allow them to overcome the excellent protective features of sea … They have an interesting method of eating their prey. Sea urchins are related to starfish and look like small, purple hedgehogs. The sea otter’s high metabolic rate helps them to stay warm – to fuel it each day, they have to eat 20-30% of their body weight in food! Many otters from using a large number of hedgehogs, bones and insides are sometimes stained with a purple pigment. Because of the urchin's hard, spiny shell, otters have to work a little to access the tasty morsels inside. The urchins would consume too much kelp, reducing the availability of fish in the water. Two or more otter species occupying the same geographical area usually have different food habits. Otters get urchin shells open primarily be hitting them, either with a rock or against a rock. In turn, sea urchins serve as food for many species of fish, birds, sea stars, lobsters, fur seals, but the largest hunter on sea urchins is the sea otter. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Without the sea otter as a predator, the urchin population would balloon out of control. If you come across a sea otter you think is sick, injured or abandoned, please give it space and call The Marine Mammal Center’s stranding hotline at (415) 289-7325. They may be cute and cuddly-looking, but otters are equipped to do serious damage with their choppers. Urchins eat kelp, and sea otters eat sea urchins. They prey on crustaceans by using pairs of rocks to crush the outer shells, easily accessing the soft flesh inside. Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Enter the sea otter. Because they have to eat so much, otters spend a lot of their time hunting and foraging for food -- they can dive more 300 feet when they're on the hunt. Purple sea urchins are devouring the kelp forest off California's coast. The kelp can flourish, providing habitat for many ocean organisms. Urchins beat kelp, as they munch on their blades. These small urchins also readily devour kelp, and if their numbers swell, they begin to thin out kelp forests. [57] The sea otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. Because they are not exposed to predators, and do not have to forage for prey, they are provided with environmental enrichment in their habitat to keep them entertained. Sea otters dive to rocky reefs, where they collect invertebrates and also a large rock. Empower Her. Otters beat urchins, as otters eat urchins. In this film, marine ecologist Professor James A Estes, cameraman Doug Allan, ecological economist Pavan Sukhdev, and lead scientist with the Nature Conservancy, Dr … Sea otters are carnivores that feed on an array of marine species—mostly invertebrates like crabs, clams, urchins, snails and worms. This means they don't just impact the lives of the urchins they eat, they actually control the ecosystem by doing so. How Do Sea Otters Eat? A treaty was signed on July 7, 1911, that was designed to manage the commercial harvest of fur-bearing mammals (such as seals and sea otters) in the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea. Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). Sea otters have poor underwater vision but that doesn’t slow them down. Because of the urchin's hard, spiny shell, otters have to work a … If you were trying to open a hard shell, you might start by smacking it. Sea otters are another predator of urchins in the kelp forests. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Sea otters play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the shoreline population and ecosystem. Did you know? Their appetite for these invertebrate species exerts a strong influence on prey size and number and how they live and move in their habitat. So when otters keep the population of urchins down, kelp forests expand. The sea urchin is the leading food for the sea otter, by consuming sea urchins, the sea otter can maintain a balance of Eco-system. Sea otter skull with echinochrome staining. Sea urchin fishing began in Japan soon after World War II before spreading to the entire Pacific Rim by the 1970s and within two more decades the practice would spread to the Atlantic region. Kelp beats otters, as kelp is essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem and habitat for the otters. They use the rock as a table against which they smash their shelled prey to g… Upon returning to the surface, they float on their backs, with the rock on the stomachs. With the hellish look and feel of this echinoderm, one has to wonder why people actually want to eat what's inside. © 2021 WILD SKY MEDIA. by seaottersdotcom | Oct 4, 2012 | sea otters. And kelp forests provide homes to lots of small marine creatures, including crabs. Here are some viewing tips to help you enjoy watching sea otters and other marine wildlife in a safe and responsible way. Because they chow down on urchins, sea otters are considered "keystone predators." Sea otters, sunflower stars and California sheephead prey on the purple sea urchin. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. Otters have little pouches under their arms, in which they can store rocks to use as little hammers for smashing open urchin shells. Stranded sea otter with echinochrome stained teeth. And sea urchins eat kelp. Typically, a sea otter's diet consists of sea urchins, snails crabs, fish, and molluscs such as clams, mussels and whelks. 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