GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Unlike other marine mammals, such as seals and sea lions, sea otters do not have any blubber, so they depend on this exceptionally thick, water-resistant fur to stay warm in the cold, coastal Pacific.

Detailed explanation-2: -A sea otter can survive in frigid ocean water without the benefit of the thick layer of blubber that keeps other marine mammals warm. How? It’s wrapped in an insulating blanket of dense fur and its inner furnace is fired by eating up to 25 percent of its body weight each day.

Detailed explanation-3: -Sea otters have long been recognized as a classic example of a keystone species, a dominant predator that maintains the balance of kelp forest ecosystems by controlling populations of sea urchins, which are voracious kelp grazers.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most are small, with short ears and noses, elongated bodies, long tails, and soft, dense fur. There are 13 species in total, ranging from the small-clawed otter to the giant otter. Though most live in freshwater rivers, lakes, and wetlands, the sea otter and the smaller marine otter are found in the Pacific Ocean.

Detailed explanation-5: -Sea otters’ secret to staying warm isn’t in thick stores of blubber. It’s in their muscles. Leaks in the energy-generating parts of muscle cells help otters maintain a resting metabolism three times as fast as predicted for a creature their size, researchers report in the July 9 Science.