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Description: |
xv, 247 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm. |
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Bibliography Note: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-237) and index. |
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Contents Note: |
Contents: Introduction / G.R. VanBlaricom and J.A. Estes -- A review of the history, distribution, and foraging ecology of sea otters / M.L. Riedman and J.A. Estes -- Sea otter foraging habits and effects on prey populations and communities in soft-bottom environments / R.G. Kvitek and J.S. Oliver -- Effects of foraging by sea otters on mussel-dominated intertidal communities / G.R. VanBlaricom -- Kelp communities and sea otters / M.S. Foster and D.R. Schiel -- Sea otters, sea urchins, and kelp beds / J.A. Estes and C. Harrold -- Effects of sea otter foraging on subtidal reef communities off Central California / D.R. Laur, A.W. Ebeling, and D.A. Coon -- Fish populations in kelp forests without sea otters / A.W. Ebeling and D.R. Laur -- The effects of kelp forests on nearshore environments / D.O. Duggins -- Sea otters and nearshore benthic communities / S.A. Levin -- Concluding remarks / J.A. Estes and G.R. VanBlaricom. |
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Summary, Etc. Note: |
Summary: The impetus for this volume comes from two sources. The first is scientific: by virtue of a preference for certain large benthic invertebrates as food, sea otters have interesting and significant effects on the structure and dynamics of nearshore communities in the North Pacific. The second is political: be cause of the precarious status of the sea otter population in coastal California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced, in June 1984, a proposal to establish a new population of sea otters at San Nicolas Island, off southern California. The proposal is based on the premise that risks of catastrophic losses of sea otters, due to large oil spills, are greatly reduced by distributing the population among two geographically separate locations. The federal laws of the U.S. require that USFWS publish an Environmental Impact Statement (ElS) regarding the proposed translocation of sea otters to San Nicolas Island. The EIS is intended to be an assessment of likely bio logical, social, and economic effects of the proposal. In final form, the EIS has an important role in the decision of federal management authority (in this case, the Secretary of the Interior of the U.S.) to accept or reject the proposal. |
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Additional Physical Forms: |
Online version: Community ecology of sea otters. Berlin ; New York : Springer-Verlag, ©1988 (OCoLC)656196274 |
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Series Added Entry: |
Ecological studies ; v. 65. |