Keystone Species and Biodiversity — Sea Otters and Kelp Forests.
An ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting directly and indirectly in their environmental roles. They are neither completely ordered nor in complete chaos. The appearance of a species within an environment occurs because the organism lives in a habitat that is suitable to their particular adaptations. In each community that makes up an ecosystem, there are different trophic levels of organisms present which will affect the population sizes of other species already present. Those species with the most pull in an ecosystem are referred to as keystone species. The removal of the keystone species from an ecosystem may be devastating to the entire ecosystem and can lead to the decline and near extinction of other organisms present, and also allow for organisms not currently present to invade and alter the entire structure of the ecosystem.
Sea otters are large-bodied, agile because of their relation to weasels, have cat-like whiskers covering the face, and typically have lazy or lethargic expressions. The sea otter, scientifically known as the Enhydra lutris, is anything but lazy or lethargic in practice and is a keystone species that is of particular importance along the Pacific Coastal line. The seashore is the natural habitat of sea otters in the wild.
