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∙ 14y agoSea urchins eat the holdfast, the part of the kelp that holds the kelp to the seabed. Once the holdfast is consumed, there is nothing to anchor the kelp, which will then float to the ocean's surface and, eventually, die.
Sea otters are some of the most significant natural predators of sea urchins. But due to the depletion of sea otter populations by excessive hunting in the past couple centuries, there have been too few otters to control the levels of urchin population. Urchins have therefore been eating the kelp faster than the kelp can reproduce, in some locations. Many areas that once had large kelp forests have been eaten away until nothing is left, leaving behind regions known as "urchin barrens". This proves detrimental not only for the kelp, but also the multitudes of animals, ranging from other invertebrates to fish to whales, that depend on the kelp forest in one way or another as an integral part of their habitat.
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How are sea urchins and kelp forests connected?
sea urchins eat kelp.
What are three examples of symbiotic relationships present in the kelp forest?
The kelp uses the sea urchins to keep it in check, from growing too much. However, the sea urchins eat kelp, so they destroy kelp growth. Also, sea otters eat urchins, and they live in the kelp forest.
Are sea urchins predators?
No. Sea urchins are primary consumers and only eat sea weed, algae and kelp.
Which whales eat Kelp?
Killer whales eat kelp from time to time. Other animals that eat kelp include sea otters and sea urchins.
Do sea urchins eat kelp?
Fish, birds, octopi, and sea otters eats Kelp crabs.
What happens to kelp forests when sea urchins are not present in the ecosystem?
When sea urchins are not present in the ecosystem kelp forests thrive.
What food does sea urchin eat?
Sea urchins eat endlessly as long as there is food they are eating. They eat the algae growing in slat water tanks and the ocean.
Where do purple sea urchins live in nature?
Purple sea urchins live in close association with kelp forests. Kelp is their primary food.
What are the predators of bull kelp?
The predators of bull kelp are sea urchins.
What are examplres of consumers in the ocean?
Well there are a couple of types like the sea turtle, they eat kelp. So do sea urchins.
Do fish eat kelp?
Kelp does not eat, it is a plant, a producer. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunlight. It's a plant, not an animal. Kelp do not eat sunlight, and kelp is NOT a plant. Kelp makes its own food by a process called photosynthesis. Kelp is a protist from the kingdom of Protista, it is not a plant Good grief - kelp is a seaweed, not a protist. It is one of the brown algae, and indeed uses sunlight as the energy source to make its own food. Actually, it is a protist and it gets nutrients from photosynthesis. Yep, kelps are seaweeds, but they are actually from the Kingdom Protista (i.e. protists). They belong to the Class Phaeophyceae which are protists, not plants (although clearly, they are plant like). And yes, they photosynthesise.
Do sea urchins have predators?
Yes it does they are sea otters, crabs, and a type of fish.Yes it does they are sea otters, crabs, and a type of fish.
