Sea Otter Conservation

Sea Otter Conservation: Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration, Second Edition offers the most updated and revised ecological knowledge for conserving sea otters and their coastal habitats. As sea otters are good indicators of ocean health, they are also keystone species, offering a stabilizing effect on ecosystems, controlling sea urchin populations that can damage kelp forests, and curbing coastal erosion. This book synthesizes the important relationship between sea otters and conservation of themselves as well as vital marine ecosystems. Written by experts in the field, this book contains two sections that focus first on the latest data, practices, and hands-on research for conserving coastal ecosystems. Sections offer links between sea otter presence and increased kelp, seagrass, and geological conservation, while also focusing specifically on the sea otter and providing up-to-date research, data, and case studies regarding their genetics, habitats, and impacts of climate change.

• Covers the key scientific, ecological, and management aspects of sea otter recovery, conservation, and associated ecosystem effects
• Provides guidance on how to facilitate ecosystem restoration through keystone species conservation in the face of future global changes such as climate change
• Highlights the range of effects that keystone species have on coastal marine ecosystems