Sea Otters Returned to a Degraded Coastline Ate Enough Crabs to Restore Balance and Cut Erosion by 90%

Released by Sonoma State University / Photography by Jessica Saavedra

By Good News Network -Feb 3, 2024


Against all odds, a distressed California coastal ecosystem is on the mend, in large part, thanks to the insatiable appetite sea otters have for crabs.

In a groundbreaking study published this week in Nature, scientists revealed that the return of sea otters to their former habitat in a Central California estuary has slowed erosion of the area’s marsh banks by up to 90%.

The resurgence of these charismatic marine mammals to the salt marshes of Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County sparks hope for improving coastal ecosystems and marks a significant ecological success story.

“Restoring the otter population was achievable without significant effort, and as a result, we are now unlocking several decades of benefits from that one act of conservation,” said Christine Angelini, Ph.D., one of the study’s authors and director of the Center for Coastal Solutions at the University of Florida.

More:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/coastal-ecosystem-on-the-mend-thanks-to-sea-otters-appetite/