Sea otters obtain their food by diving. by seaottersdotcom | Oct 4, 2012 | sea otters. 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. Otter Eating image by Dawn from Fotolia.com. Shape The World. © 2021 WILD SKY MEDIA. Be Her Village. 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). 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! Sea otters are carnivores that feed on an array of marine species—mostly invertebrates like crabs, clams, urchins, snails and worms. 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. 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. Sea urchin, usually called uni, is actually a delicacy in many parts of the world. But they eat enough to drop numbers significantly. Sea otters, sunflower stars and California sheephead prey on the purple sea urchin. 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). 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. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. Urchins beat kelp, as they munch on their blades. Food preferences vary among individuals. 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! Otters beat urchins, as otters eat urchins. Tom Ryan is a freelance writer, editor and English tutor. A sea otter's diet consists mainly of slow-moving fishes and marine invertebrates including crabs, sea urchins, abalones, clams, mussels, and snails. These small urchins also readily devour kelp, and if their numbers swell, they begin to thin out kelp forests. “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. Without the sea otter as a predator, the urchin population would balloon out of control. 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. Can You Eat Sea Urchin? Their appetite for these invertebrate species exerts a strong influence on prey size and number and how they live and move in their habitat. Sea urchins excrete waste matter through the top of their bodies. They use the rock as a table against which they smash their shelled prey to g… Against the backdrop of climate change, the delicate underwater ecology of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands is hurting from declines in otters. Sea otters play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the shoreline population and ecosystem. Different types of otter, including sea otters and river otters, eat a wide variety of sea creatures, including urchins. Two or more otter species occupying the same geographical area usually have different food habits. That's exactly what an otter does. 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. Otter populations are growing in Southeast Alaska, Katchemak Bay … How Do Sea Otters Eat? And kelp forests provide homes to lots of small marine creatures, including crabs. Sea otter resting on the ocean surface, grasping a purple sea urchin it has just pulled up off the ocean floor. Otters get urchin shells open primarily be hitting them, either with a rock or against a rock. The urchins would consume too much kelp, reducing the availability of fish in the water. Sea otters will eat virtually anything they can get their little paws on. Tune into our LIVE Sea Otter Cam for your daily dose of sea otter cuteness. 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. If both teams show the same character, no one wins. 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. Kelp beats otters, as kelp is essential to maintaining a balanced ecosystem and habitat for the otters. If you were trying to open a hard shell, you might start by smacking it. [59] 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). The kelp can flourish, providing habitat for many ocean organisms. Sea urchins eat kelp’s in great abundance; when the population of sea urchins is controlled, kelp forests can flourish. 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. Sea otters dive to rocky reefs, where they collect invertebrates and also a large rock. 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 … Enter the sea otter. I have never seen or read anything that indicates that sea otters supplement their … 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). Here are some viewing tips to help you enjoy watching sea otters and other marine wildlife in a safe and responsible way. Because of the urchin's hard, spiny shell, otters have to work a little to access the tasty morsels inside. Sea otter predation on the purple sea urchin helps protect kelp forests from destruction. They scrape clean rocks and coral covered in algae using their teeth, and their long tongue to eat the matter. What Are the Suction Cups Used for on the Tentacles of a Squid? Some otters eat so many urchins that their teeth, skulls and skeletons are stained purple! They hunt three to four times every day, relying primarily on their vision and touch. Did you know? What Is the Difference Between a Sea Nettle & a Jelly Fish? Sea otters, which can eat nearly 1,000 sea urchins a … While they can live in groups ranging from two otters to more than 1,000, they generally prefer to do their hunting alone. Still hungry, the otter dives below the surface again. The main part of the coral reefs is located in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Urchins eat kelp, and sea otters eat sea urchins. This inc… Purple sea urchins on rocky reef amid kelp forest. 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 otter skull with echinochrome staining. This means they don't just impact the lives of the urchins they eat, they actually control the ecosystem by doing so. Different types of otter, including sea otters and river otters, eat a wide variety of sea creatures, including urchins. 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. They may be cute and cuddly-looking, but otters are equipped to do serious damage with their choppers. Sea otters are another predator of urchins in the kelp forests. The sea urchin’s main predators are crabs, lobsters, starfish, eels, sea otters, birds, and a number of large fish. Sea otters do an excellent job of eating large sea urchins over eight centimetres in diameter, but they tend to leave behind smaller urchins. Sea otters have poor underwater vision but that doesn’t slow them down. And sea urchins eat kelp. When you see a sea urchin, you probably don't think that these spiny, scary-looking creatures are edible. Learn more about these cute and charismatic critters. Purple sea urchins are devouring the kelp forest off California's coast. By controlling sea urchin populations, sea otters promote giant kelp growth, as that species is a favorite of sea urchin grazers. The otters' presence keeps urchin populations in … Many otters from using a large number of hedgehogs, bones and insides are sometimes stained with a purple pigment. Sea otters are obligate carnivores which means they only eat meat items. In places where sea otters have disappeared, sea urchins will eat the kelp forest until it’s gone. Their seafood smorgasbord includes more than 100 types of marine invertebrates such as crab, clams, abalone, octopus and sea urchins. Sea otter skull with echinochrome staining. And eat they do—with gusto. 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. With the hellish look and feel of this echinoderm, one has to wonder why people actually want to eat what's inside. They are known to eat clams, mussels, crabs, octopus, sea urchins, snails, and fat innkeeper worms. Because they chow down on urchins, sea otters are considered "keystone predators." To help the forest survive, researchers are trying to make these urchins a delicacy on menus at seafood restaurants. They have an interesting method of eating their prey. 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