Out-of-control invasive species has met its match: Cute and hungry otters
SAN FRANCISCO – A California ecosystem has gotten a big boost from an adorable, fluffy and hungry friend.
At Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, a newly-reinvigorated population of native southern sea otters has eaten so many invasive European green crabs that researchers say the otters have locally solved a problem that has plagued the West Coast for years.
States are spending millions to protect their inland waterways from the tiny crabs. Though small – they reach only four inches in width – the invaders harm native wildlife and shoreline ecosystems. At stake are multi-million dollar shellfish industries for Dungeness, king crab and other species. But at the reserve, otters have almost wiped the crabs out, helping the estuary's ecosystem come back into balance.
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Green crabs are originally from Europe and arrived on the West coast sometime in the 1980s. They are considered one of the most invasive species in the marine environment, destroying seagrass, devouring baby crab and salmon and basically laying waste to coastal waters from California to Alaska.
Alaska has an early detection and response plan in place. Washington has allocated $12 million to fight the invaders, Oregon encourages crabbers to harvest up to 35 of them a day. In California, researchers from the University of California, Davis spent years trying to eradicate them from the state's Stinson Beach’s Seadrift Lagoon, only to have them bounce back with a vengeance.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/control-invasive-species-met-match-101422332.html
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In addition to being absolutely adorable, they are smart and playful and are a wonderful part of the California Ecology. I could watch them for hours - whether it be in the wild laying amongst the kelp forests and riding the waves or playing at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
And now they are environmental champions.
