Abstract

After nearly a century of recovery from overhunting, sea otter populations are in abrupt decline over large areas of western Alaska. Increased killer whale predation is the likely cause of these declines. Elevated sea urchin density and the consequent deforestation of kelp beds in the nearshore community demonstrate that the otter's keystone role has been reduced or eliminated. This chain of interactions was probably initiated by anthropogenic changes in the offshore oceanic ecosystem.

Keywords

OtterWhaleKelp forestKeystone speciesEcosystemKelpPredationFisheryTrophic cascadeMarine ecosystemOceanographyEcologyGeographyEnvironmental scienceBiologyFood webGeology

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Publication Info

Year
1998
Type
article
Volume
282
Issue
5388
Pages
473-476
Citations
1237
Access
Closed

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James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, Terrie M. Williams et al. (1998). Killer Whale Predation on Sea Otters Linking Oceanic and Nearshore Ecosystems. Science , 282 (5388) , 473-476. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5388.473

Identifiers

DOI
10.1126/science.282.5388.473