A sea otter eating a crab in the estuarine water of Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California. Duke University / Killiii Yuyan
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Sea otters started recolonizing their former habitat in a central California coastal estuary several decades ago, and erosion has since slowed by as much as 90 percent, according to a new study.
Elkhorn Slough is an estuary dominated by salt marshes. Its marsh edges and creek banks had suffered from erosion, but when the sea otters moved back in, vegetation began to rebound and establish dense root systems that are able to increasingly withstand waves and flooding, a press release from Duke University said.
One of the big reasons for the…
Read the full article originally published at www.ecowatch.com.