Sea Otters Prevent Global Warming

Sea otters have the potential to play a vital role in protecting the earth from global warming if their existence is not endangered, says an American scientist.

Chris Wilmers, at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and colleagues determined that the endangered animal feasting on sea urchins helped the growth of kelp forests, which can sequester at least 0.18 kg of carbon from the atmosphere for every square metre of otter occupied coastal waters.

Health Effects of Global Warming
Greenhouse effect causes excessive heat to build up in the earth’s atmosphere causing global warming and affects the environment and health.

In former kelp forests that have lost their otters, Wilmers says, "all you are left with is piles of urchins and very little else", reports the New Scientist.

Wilmers presented the findings at the annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in Edmonton, Canada, this month.

Source-ANI

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