Speaker: Dr. M. Tim Tinker- Research Wildlife Biologist and Adjunct Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology with the University of California, Santa Cruz

Topic: So much more than a pretty face: the many different ecological impacts of recovering sea otters.

To some people, sea otters are cute furry animals that are fun to watch. To others, they are disruptive predators that compete with shellfisheries. To yet others they are a keystone species that has an important ecological role in coastal kelp forests. All of these views are well founded, and all are related to the unique biology of sea otters (the tiny marine mammal which shouldn’t be possible).  However, the full story is much more complex, and more interesting, than we once realized. I review some of the recent discoveries about the diverse ecological effects of sea otters in nearshore marine ecosystems and discuss some of the challenges and benefits of their long and complicated relationship with people.