GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -As top predators, sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of nearshore ecosystems, such as kelp forests, embayments and estuaries. Without sea otters, sea urchins can overpopulate the sea floor and devour the kelp forests that provide cover and food for many other marine animals.

Detailed explanation-2: -Keystone species have low functional redundancy. This means that if the species were to disappear from the ecosystem, no other species would be able to fill its ecological niche. The ecosystem would be forced to radically change, allowing new and possibly invasive species to populate the habitat.

Detailed explanation-3: -Without otters, sea urchins populations explode, and the kelp forests are decimated, in that urchins eat the kelp. By keeping urchin numbers low, otters make the kelp forests possible, which in turn provides an environment that supports myriad other species.

Detailed explanation-4: -Predators are essential to ecosystems because they regulate prey populations. Without predators, prey can become over-abundant. This can result in damage to local plants, as well as disease outbreaks that can spread to domesticated animals.