(Solved): Consider the following marine community: Sea otters prey on sea urchins and therefore help maintain ...

Consider the following marine community: Sea otters prey on sea urchins and therefore help maintain a healthy sea urchin population. Sea urchins prey on kelp. By helping to maintain viable sea urchin populations, the sea otters are also allowing enough kelp to grow and act as a habitat for other organisms. Suppose that a bacterial infection swept across a sea otter population and killed most sea otters before they could reproduce. How would the marine community be affected? For a period of time, there would be an overpopulation of kelp and therefore a decline in sea urchins. Sea otters would continue to decline until they reached extinction. Kelp would become a primary predator of sea urchins. For a period of time, there would be overpopulations of sea urchins and therefore a decline in kelp populations.