These sea otters in Alaska are floating amid kelp—an important flora friend to the endangered marine mammals. Sea otters live mostly in the water and use the thick blades of kelp to anchor themselves as they sleep and to keep their buoyant pups from floating away. Just as the kelp helps otters, sea otters help the kelp, too. They ensure the kelp"s survival by eating sea urchins. If sea urchin populations are left unchecked, these spiny vacuum cleaners of the sea destroy kelp forests by munching on holdfasts that tether kelp to the ocean floor. The resulting clear-cut areas, called urchin barrens, are devastating to the overall ecosystem. Kelp forests provide food and safe harbor for hundreds of fish species and other sea creatures. They also remove carbon dioxide from the air, a benefit to us all.
Kelp buddies
Today in History
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Death Valley National Park, California
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National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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National Park Service anniversary
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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
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Squirrel Appreciation Day
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Join the parade for World Elephant Day
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Málaga, Spain
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Honoring our veterans
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Big sky at Big Bend
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All hail the king of shrubs
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
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It’s Giving Tuesday
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Vacuum Chamber 5 at Glenn Research Center
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Sunbeams across Tartu County, Estonia
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National Public Lands Day
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Life goes on at the Beatles Ashram
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Hemakuta Hill, Hampi, India
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White trilliums blooming in Ontario, Canada
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Salt ponds of Maras, Peru
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Mapping courage in the Seventh Ward
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Rainbow Mountain
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Moselle River loop near Kröv, Germany
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Point Reyes National Seashore, California
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Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
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Surfer s paradise
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International Surfing Day
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Did it see its shadow?
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Wicker fields in Cañamares, Spain
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Happy Easter!