Southeast Alaskan kelp forests: inferences of process from large-scale patterns of variation in space and time.

ABSTRACT: Humans were considered external drivers in much foundational ecological research. A recognition that humans are embedded in the complex interaction networks we study can provide new insight into our ecological paradigms. Here, we use time-series data spanning three decades to explore the effects of human harvesting on otter-urchin-kelp trophic cascades in southeast Alaska. These effects were inferred from variation in sea urchin and kelp abundance following the post fur trade repatriation of otters and a subsequent localized reduction of otters by human harvest in one location. In an example of a classic trophic cascade, otter repatriation was followed by a 99% reduction in urchin biomass density and a greater than 99% increase in kelp density region wide. Recent spatially concentrated har

SUBMITTER: Gorra TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8767212 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature