12
Kelp, Urchins, and Otters in the
California Coastal Region
Erin J. Tornatore and Matthias Ruth
This is the task of natural science: to show that the wonderful is not incomprehensible , to show it can be comprehended-but not to destroy
wonder. For when we have explained the wonderful, unmasked the
hidden pattern, a new wonder arisesat how complexity was woven out
of simplicity. The aesthetics of natural science and mathematics is at
one with the aesthetics of music and painting-both inhere in the discovery of a partially concealed pattern.
(Simon, 1996)
In this chapter you will:
• Learn about dynamic interactions among populations at different levels
of the food chain ; and
• See the effects of reintroducing a top-level predator-sea otters-into an
ecosystem from which they had previously been removed by human
hunting.
12.1. Background
For hundreds of years, the various organisms that dwell in the giant kelp
(Macrocystis pyrifera) forests along the Californian and Alaskan coasts have
existed in dynamic equilibrium. Beginning in the mid-1700s, this equilibrium was disturbed when Russian fur traders began to catch sea otters (Enhydra lutris) for their valuable pelts. In the 1800s, English and American fur
traders joined the Russians, at which time large-scale otter exploitation
began to take place . By the turn of the century, overexploitation of otters
nearly caused the species' extinction. In the early 1900s, the total otter population along the North American Pacific Coast was estimated to have
dropped from the hundreds of thousands to approximately 1000 individuals. The International Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 prevented further harvesting .
Since then, both the treaty and government transplantation programs have
enabled the sea otter population to rebound and move back into its historical range (Seaworld 1996).
231
M. Ruth et al. (Eds.), Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation
© Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 2002
Kelp, Urchins, and Otters in the
California Coastal Region
Erin J. Tornatore and Matthias Ruth
This is the task of natural science: to show that the wonderful is not incomprehensible , to show it can be comprehended-but not to destroy
wonder. For when we have explained the wonderful, unmasked the
hidden pattern, a new wonder arisesat how complexity was woven out
of simplicity. The aesthetics of natural science and mathematics is at
one with the aesthetics of music and painting-both inhere in the discovery of a partially concealed pattern.
(Simon, 1996)
In this chapter you will:
• Learn about dynamic interactions among populations at different levels
of the food chain ; and
• See the effects of reintroducing a top-level predator-sea otters-into an
ecosystem from which they had previously been removed by human
hunting.
12.1. Background
For hundreds of years, the various organisms that dwell in the giant kelp
(Macrocystis pyrifera) forests along the Californian and Alaskan coasts have
existed in dynamic equilibrium. Beginning in the mid-1700s, this equilibrium was disturbed when Russian fur traders began to catch sea otters (Enhydra lutris) for their valuable pelts. In the 1800s, English and American fur
traders joined the Russians, at which time large-scale otter exploitation
began to take place . By the turn of the century, overexploitation of otters
nearly caused the species' extinction. In the early 1900s, the total otter population along the North American Pacific Coast was estimated to have
dropped from the hundreds of thousands to approximately 1000 individuals. The International Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 prevented further harvesting .
Since then, both the treaty and government transplantation programs have
enabled the sea otter population to rebound and move back into its historical range (Seaworld 1996).
231
M. Ruth et al. (Eds.), Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation
© Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. 2002