Scientists researching Pacific sea otters find that many members of the population are infected by a parasite, and a number of the sea otters must be destroyed to save the entire sea otter population. One of the main foods of sea otters is sea urchin, which eat kelp. The kelp forest is home to many species of fish. How is destroying some of the sea otters most likely to affect fish living in the kelp forest?

Question

Scientists researching Pacific sea otters find that many members of the population are infected by a parasite, and a number of the sea otters must be destroyed to save the entire sea otter population. One of the main foods of sea otters is sea urchin, which eat kelp. The kelp forest is home to many species of fish. How is destroying some of the sea otters most likely to affect fish living in the kelp forest?

Emergency sea otters needed to save California's kelp forests

a
Destroying the sea otters will cause the fish population to decrease.
b
Destroying the sea otters will cause the fish population to become extinct.
c
Destroying the sea otters will cause the fish population to increase.
d
Destroying the sea otters will allow the fish population to remain constant.

Answer 1

Destroying the sea otters will cause the fish population to decrease.

Sea otters play a key role in maintaining the balance of the kelp forest ecosystem by preying on sea urchins, which in turn helps protect the kelp from being overgrazed. Without sea otters to control the sea urchin population, the sea urchins would likely overgraze the kelp forest, leading to a decrease in habitat for fish and a decline in the fish population.