Historical analysis shows that the marine mammals likely kept some of California’s kelp forests growing over the past 100 years. By Laura Baisas Published Jan 23, 2024 12:00 PM EST Get the Popular ...

Adorably fuzzy sea otters aren’t just cute. The marine mammals serve a crucial role, helping to restore the giant kelp forests they rely on by removing their top predators, the sea urchins. When ...

MONTEREY — Within the last century, the recovery of southern sea otters, the unofficial mascot of Central California, has contributed to the health of California’s underwater forests according to a ...

SAUSALITO, California (KPIX) — The health of the ocean off the Northern California coast is in trouble, as biologists have seen a massive die-off of the kelp forests that are essential to a healthy ...

Oregon has lost two-thirds of its kelp forests since 2010. Efforts to remove hundreds of thousands of purple urchins might ...

A southern sea otter (not Otter 841!) enjoys the seafood bounty among the kelp a few yards from West Cliff Drive, near Indicators Surf Break, in Santa Cruz. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary ...

Kelp forests are a crucial California marine ecosystem. From kelp’s floating canopies to its “holdfast” roots, the giant seaweed — algae, actually — supports greater biodiversity and sequesters more ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. In 1906, two hunters at Otter Rock on the central Oregon coast killed what may have ...

Kelp is a large, brown algae that lives in relatively shallow waters close to shore. They grow in large groups that resemble forests on land. These kelp forests are important because they contain a ...