A Sea Otter's Diet Sea otters eat a wide variety of prey, including marine invertebrates such as echinoderms (sea stars and sea urchins), crustaceans (e.g., crabs), cephalopods (e.g., squid), bivalves (clams, mussels, abalone), gastropods (snails), and chitons. Because they are not exposed to predators, and do not have to forage for prey, they are provided with environmental enrichment in their habitat to keep them entertained. They leave behind desolate areas called urchin barrens. PART OF WILD SKY MEDIA | FAMILY & PARENTING, Smithsonian: Otters: The Picky Eaters of the Pacific, Defenders of Wildlife: Basic Facts About Sea Otters, Friends of the Elephant Seal: California Sea Otter, Exploring Nature: Keystone Species - Sea Otter, Alaska Department of Fish & Game: River Otter (PDF). When you see a sea urchin, you probably don't think that these spiny, scary-looking creatures are edible. Different types of otter, including sea otters and river otters, eat a wide variety of sea creatures, including urchins. And kelp forests provide homes to lots of small marine creatures, including crabs. “When you see a sea otter, they’re usually either eating or digesting,” often munching on urchins, says ecologist Anne Salomon, a Pew marine fellow. But you'd be wrong! Their seafood smorgasbord includes more than 100 types of marine invertebrates such as crab, clams, abalone, octopus and sea urchins. The main part of the coral reefs is located in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Want to watch cute sea otters romp, wrestle and play every day of the year? If you were trying to open a hard shell, you might start by smacking it. They scrape clean rocks and coral covered in algae using their teeth, and their long tongue to eat the matter. Learn more about these cute and charismatic critters. If both teams show the same character, no one wins. Many otters from using a large number of hedgehogs, bones and insides are sometimes stained with a purple pigment. Otters get urchin shells open primarily be hitting them, either with a rock or against a rock. Because of the urchin's hard, spiny shell, otters have to work a … Food preferences vary among individuals. Sea urchin fishing began in Japan soon after World War II before spreading to the entire Pacific Rim by the 1970s and within two more decades the practice would spread to the Atlantic region. The sea urchin’s main predators are crabs, lobsters, starfish, eels, sea otters, birds, and a number of large fish. Sea otters play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the shoreline population and ecosystem. What Are the Suction Cups Used for on the Tentacles of a Squid? Purple sea urchins are devouring the kelp forest off California's coast. With the hellish look and feel of this echinoderm, one has to wonder why people actually want to eat what's inside. The urchins would consume too much kelp, reducing the availability of fish in the water. Because of this, the sea otter has to eat 25 to 30 percent of its body weight every day to keep its metabolism working right. Sea otters are another predator of urchins in the kelp forests. To eat large sea urchins, which are mostly covered with spines, the sea otter bites through the underside where the spines are shortest, and licks the soft contents out of the urchin's shell. [57] The sea otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. Tune into our LIVE Sea Otter Cam for your daily dose of sea otter cuteness. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. The sea urchin is the leading food for the sea otter, by consuming sea urchins, the sea otter can maintain a balance of Eco-system. Sea otters, which can eat nearly 1,000 sea urchins a … These small urchins also readily devour kelp, and if their numbers swell, they begin to thin out kelp forests. Otters can eat the spiky urchins whole, making them the major urchin predator. Because of the urchin's hard, spiny shell, otters have to work a little to access the tasty morsels inside. Sea otters dive to rocky reefs, where they collect invertebrates and also a large rock. Against the backdrop of climate change, the delicate underwater ecology of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands is hurting from declines in otters. Sea urchins are one of the favourite foods of many lobsters, crabs, triggerfish, California sheephead, sea otter and wolf eels (which specialise in sea urchins). The kelp can flourish, providing habitat for many ocean organisms. Rounds keep repeating until one team wins (the other team is completely captured). Sea otters that regularly eat the purple sea urchin are easily detected — their bones and teeth turn sea-urchin purple! Sea otters do an excellent job of eating large sea urchins over eight centimetres in diameter, but they tend to leave behind smaller urchins. They prey on crustaceans by using pairs of rocks to crush the outer shells, easily accessing the soft flesh inside. Sea otters have poor underwater vision but that doesn’t slow them down. If you come across a sea otter you think is sick, injured or abandoned, please give it space and call The Marine Mammal Center’s stranding hotline at (415) 289-7325. Sea otters are carnivores that feed on an array of marine species—mostly invertebrates like crabs, clams, urchins, snails and worms. The sea otter’s high metabolic rate helps them to stay warm – to fuel it each day, they have to eat 20-30% of their body weight in food! This inc… The two are directly related in that sea otters prey on sea urchins, which in turn can help foster kelp beds because urchins feast on kelp. What Is the Difference Between a Sea Nettle & a Jelly Fish? How Do Sea Otters Eat? Not all otters have the same taste in food, but the ones that have a weakness for urchins are easy to spot -- their teeth actually develop a purple hue from eating so many. A treaty was signed on July 7, 1911, that was designed to manage the commercial harvest of fur-bearing mammals (such as seals and sea otters) in the Pribilof Islands of the Bering Sea. An otter's paws and whiskers are particularly important for finding food in dark waters. To help the forest survive, researchers are trying to make these urchins a delicacy on menus at seafood restaurants. Purple sea urchins on rocky reef amid kelp forest. He says otters do not remove all sea urchins. So when otters keep the population of urchins down, kelp forests expand. Despite living in the cold Pacific Ocean, the sea otter doesn't have insulating blubber like other ocean mammals such as the whale. In places where sea otters have disappeared, sea urchins will eat the kelp forest until it’s gone. Some otters eat so many urchins that their teeth, skulls and skeletons are stained purple! Sea otters obtain their food by diving. Different types of otter, including sea otters and river otters, eat a wide variety of sea creatures, including urchins. A sea otter's diet consists mainly of slow-moving fishes and marine invertebrates including crabs, sea urchins, abalones, clams, mussels, and snails. Enter the sea otter. Because they have to eat so much, otters spend a lot of their time hunting and foraging for food -- they can dive more 300 feet when they're on the hunt. This means they don't just impact the lives of the urchins they eat, they actually control the ecosystem by doing so. They are known to eat clams, mussels, crabs, octopus, sea urchins, snails, and fat innkeeper worms. Otter populations are growing in Southeast Alaska, Katchemak Bay … That's exactly what an otter does. And eat they do—with gusto. Without the sea otter as a predator, the urchin population would balloon out of control. Two or more otter species occupying the same geographical area usually have different food habits. But they eat enough to drop numbers significantly. © 2021 WILD SKY MEDIA. Here are some viewing tips to help you enjoy watching sea otters and other marine wildlife in a safe and responsible way. Sea otter skull with echinochrome staining. Urchins eat kelp, and sea otters eat sea urchins. Their appetite for these invertebrate species exerts a strong influence on prey size and number and how they live and move in their habitat. They may be cute and cuddly-looking, but otters are equipped to do serious damage with their choppers. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Because they chow down on urchins, sea otters are considered "keystone predators." Also hedgehogs are often found in coastal waters. Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). Sea otters will eat virtually anything they can get their little paws on. They hunt three to four times every day, relying primarily on their vision and touch. Sea urchins are related to starfish and look like small, purple hedgehogs. While they can live in groups ranging from two otters to more than 1,000, they generally prefer to do their hunting alone. Otters beat urchins, as otters eat urchins. While sea otters were unaffected by wasting disease and continued to eat large urchins, the populations of medium-sized urchins exploded by over 300% and the density of … Sea otters are obligate carnivores which means they only eat meat items. Be Her Village. Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Quickly spinning the sea urchin in her paws, she breaks off the prickly spines. Kelp forests are desirable as productive nurseries for a wide range of sea life. The Symbiotic Relationship Between a Barnacle Living on a Whale's Skin. A large number of sea urchins live on coral reefs. Urchins beat kelp, as they munch on their blades. Sea otters, sunflower stars and California sheephead prey on the purple sea urchin. Still hungry, the otter dives below the surface again. Using her teeth, she chomps open the body and licks out the insides. Otter Eating image by Dawn from Fotolia.com. That's like a 200-pound man eating 50 pounds of hamburger a day. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in English writing, and has also worked as an arts and entertainment reporter with "The Pitt News" and a public relations and advertising copywriter with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Sea otter predation on the purple sea urchin helps protect kelp forests from destruction. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. Sea otter skull with echinochrome staining. The otters' presence keeps urchin populations in … Sea otters are provided a varied diet while in human care. An otter's canine teeth are strong and sharp enough to rip open shells, and the rest of their teeth are strong enough to grind and crunch their way through the toughest of materials. I have never seen or read anything that indicates that sea otters supplement their … Sea otters are foragers that eat mostly hard-shelled invertebrates, including sea urchins and a variety of clams, mussels, and crabs. Sea urchin, usually called uni, is actually a delicacy in many parts of the world. Tom Ryan is a freelance writer, editor and English tutor. The most important criterion for the living of sea urchins is the salinity of water, they are not found in the salty seas (Black Sea, Caspian and part of the Baltic Sea). [59] Otters have little pouches under their arms, in which they can store rocks to use as little hammers for smashing open urchin shells. By controlling sea urchin populations, sea otters promote giant kelp growth, as that species is a favorite of sea urchin grazers. When they can, otters will simply smash an urchin shell against a large rock until it cracks or pops open; but they're known to show up to mealtime already equipped with the necessary tools. by seaottersdotcom | Oct 4, 2012 | sea otters. Fortunately, sea otters have an appetite for sea urchins and they help to keep sea urchins in check, allowing the kelp to flourish and capture CO 2. Sea urchins excrete waste matter through the top of their bodies. Kelp beats otters, as kelp is essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem and habitat for the otters. They use the rock as a table against which they smash their shelled prey to g… Some sea otters eat so many purple sea urchins over their lifetime that their teeth and bones actually become stained purple (known as echinochrome staining). In turn, sea urchins serve as food for many species of fish, birds, sea stars, lobsters, fur seals, but the largest hunter on sea urchins is the sea otter. Did you know sea otters have built in pouches of loose skin under their forearms to stash extra prey when diving? All these animals carry particular adaptations (teeth, pincers, claws) and a strength that allow them to overcome the excellent protective features of sea … Did you know? Filmed as they float on their backs, cracking open sea urchins, crabs, abalones and other shellfish with flat stones before eating them, the animal is certainly an endearing sight. When otters are present, urchins hide in crevices and snack on kelp scraps. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. And sea urchins eat kelp. Empower Her. Stranded sea otter with echinochrome stained teeth. Shape The World. Sea urchins eat kelp’s in great abundance; when the population of sea urchins is controlled, kelp forests can flourish. Upon returning to the surface, they float on their backs, with the rock on the stomachs. 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