Sea Otters: Confessions of a Keystone Carnivore

• Sea otters are perhaps the best-known example of a "keystone predator".
• Sea otter behavior -- in particular diet specialization and limited mobility -- can mediate their effects on ecosystem dynamics.
• Other predators, especially large sea stars, can complement and reinforce the keystone role of sea otters: this became apparent with the loss of all sea stars from wasting disease.

Speaker: Tim Tinker, USGS