Without sea otters, urchins would kill the kelp that absorbs carbon dioxide and other warming gases. If the atmosphere heats up, it will lots of other living organisms. Otters are highly sensitive to water temperature changes, so global warming would be devastating to their species. Climate change hasn’t affected otters yet, but in the future, some factors like oil pollution will kill them. Otters are particularly vulnerable to oil; it soaks the otter’s fur, preventing the the fur from keeping air that keeps the animal warm. Eventually, it will die from hypothermia. The otter is an endangered species and keystone too, so we should try to keep them alive.

Sea otters play a big role in their ecosystem by controlling herbivorous invertebrates. They prey on sea urchins, preventing them from overgrazing the forest of kelp, which supports marine diversity. The variety in their diet supports greater diversity amongst oceanic grazers.

Sea otters are eaten by killer whales, bald eagles, white sharks and various other animals. They are a keystone species because they eat sea urchins which feed on kelp. Kelp forest could become endangered if the urchin population gets too large. Sea otters also eat other fish like sea stars, crabs and octopuses but they don’t affect the ecosystem as much.