California sea otters may be reducing erosion as they recolonize historic habitat

Conservation meets climate resilience in Monterey Bay. A recently published study of monitoring of the Monterey Bay Elkhorn Slough estuary shows that despite sea level rise and other stresses, a restored sea otter population is slowing erosion of salt marsh edges. Predator-exclusion experiments revealed that sea otters suppress the abundance of burrowing crabs that feed on grass pickleweed which stabilize the marsh. Read more here in this article: https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/4440318-california-sea-otters-may-be-reducing-erosion-as-they-recolonize-historic-habitats/ published in The Hill by Sharon Udasin. Photo Credit: AP/Eric Risberg