Word: otters
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...otters are not the only species harmed by ocean pollution, of course, but they are easier than most to study. They sit at the top of a food chain that may extend less than half a mile from shore. "The sea otter is the canary in the coal mine for the coastal ecosystem," says Monterey's Murray...
Right now, Murray contends, that mine is looking pretty dark. While the state's otter population is holding steady at nearly 2,700, projections show that number should already have reached at least 13,000. The next step, say scientists, is to pinpoint--then shut down--the sources of runoff that are pouring toxins into the otters' playgrounds...
...this effort, the charismatic sea otter may be its own best friend. Marine mammal experts aren't always as sentimental about the sharp-toothed creatures as the public is--one expert referred to otters eating shellfish on their tummies as "buzz saws in a fur coat"--but no one doubts the value of the "aww" factor. "When you've been bitten by one, you don't think they're so cute," says Michelle Staedler, the Monterey Aquarium's sea otter research coordinator, "but then you look, and they're a big ball of fluff." [This article contains a complex diagram...
Remnant colonies Now New Threats Emerge Industrial chemicals, algae blooms and other toxins linked to coastal pollution are among the sea otter s new enemies. The threat from feline-borne toxoplasmosis, a common danger to pregnant women, helped trigger California...
...Otter eats shellfish; eggs infect the otter's brain and organs and kill...