Historical analysis shows that the marine mammals likely kept some of California’s kelp forests growing over the past 100 years. By Laura Baisas Published Jan 23, 2024 12:00 PM EST Get the Popular ...

MONTEREY — Within the last century, the recovery of southern sea otters, the unofficial mascot of Central California, has contributed to the health of California’s underwater forests according to a ...

Adorably fuzzy sea otters aren’t just cute. The marine mammals serve a crucial role, helping to restore the giant kelp forests they rely on by removing their top predators, the sea urchins. When ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. There’s a case to be made that the world’s greatest forests are ...

With their roly-poly bodies, child-like eyes, long whiskers and tiny padded paws, otters are some of the most charismatic animals in nature. But while being cute doesn't serve much purpose in the wild ...

Sea stars could play a key role in protecting threatened kelp forests, according to new research from University of Oregon and Oregon State University scientists. The study, published Wednesday in ...

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 ...

A few weeks ago, Sarah Gravem lowered a “ravenous, terrifying predator” from her boat down to the ocean floor off Sitka. Then she released it. In a slow-motion drama, sea urchins fled as a pizza-size ...

Ripple, Splash and Tidy do their best to clean the Kelp Forest before it is too late. After putting some orange sea stars in the Kelp Forest where they don’t belong, Splash, Ripple, and Tidy must get ...

Kelp is a large, brown algae that lives in relatively shallow waters close to shore. They grow in large groups that resemble forests on land. These kelp forests are important because they contain a ...

MONTEREY — Within the last century, the recovery of southern sea otters, the unofficial mascot of Central California, has contributed to the health of California’s underwater forests according to a ...