Sea cows played a critical role in the formation of kelp forests. This was reported by the press service of the California Academy of Sciences.
Steller’s cow is a large marine mammal that lives between Kamchatka and Alaska. These animals grew up to 8 meters long and fed on algae, especially seaweed (kelp). At the end of the 18th century, this animal species became extinct due to excessive meat hunting.
American scientists tried to find out the reason for the current decline in the ecosystem of kelp forests, which consists largely of moss. “Heartwood forests are highly productive ecosystems. They act as a buffer against storms, are economically important to fishing, and are home to numerous marine life, but in the Pacific they are in decline,” explains Peter Rupnarin, one of the paper’s authors.
The researchers combined data from museums, fossil records, historical records, as well as current scientific data and mathematical prediction models. These models explained, for example, that sea urchins eat algae and sea otters eat urchins. As a result, the authors observed the algal ecosystem with and without the presence of sea cows.
It turns out that sea cows give the kelp forests a completely different look. They ate the tops of plants, causing sunlight to reach the lower layers. This has contributed to increased biodiversity and a healthier ecosystem. Other algae that are particularly suitable for feeding hedgehogs can grow at the bottom because they eat less seaweed and do not cause kelp forests to fall.