kelp forests

In California, otters turn to tools to eat prey in Monterey Bay

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Sea otters on the West Coast are turning to resource use to exploit richer prey and gain a competitive edge, a new study shows. In Monterey Bay, an incredible rebound in sea otter populations has made their favorite prey scarce — and prompted them to pursue tougher options, according to findings published Thursday in Science. … Read more

How US nuclear tests in the 1970s led to today’s thriving otter population on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean

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Sea otters had disappeared from Washington, Oregon and other parts of the US until scientists relocated them to save them from a nuclear weapons test.Kevin Schafer/Getty Images In 1971, the US initiated its largest underground nuclear weapons test on a remote island in Alaska. Previously, scientists managed to relocate hundreds of sea otters that may … Read more

From crushing sea urchins to lab-grown kelp, efforts to save California’s kelp forests are promising

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CASPAR BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Joy Hollenback, with a welding hammer strapped to her wrist, donned blue fins and swam into the churning, chilly surf of the Pacific Ocean one fall morning to do her part to save the vanishing kelp forests in Northern California. Hollenback floated on the waving surface to regulate her breathing … Read more

From crushing sea urchins to lab-grown kelp, efforts to save California’s kelp forests are promising

by

CASPAR BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Joy Hollenback, with a welding hammer strapped to her wrist, donned blue fins and swam into the churning, chilly surf of the Pacific Ocean one fall morning to do her part to save the vanishing kelp forests in Northern California. Hollenback floated on the waving surface to regulate her breathing … Read more