Sea otters play a critical keystone role in kelp forest ecosystems by controlling sea urchin populations, with their welfare and conservation directly linked to the health of one of the ocean's most biodiverse habitats.
Sea otter welfare is tightly coupled to ecosystem health. Otters in degraded kelp habitats face nutritional stress from reduced prey availability — urchin barrens offer far less diverse and abundant food than healthy kelp forests. Oil spills cause hypothermia through fur contamination, as sea otter insulation depends entirely on air trapped in their dense fur rather than blubber. Harmful algal bloom toxins cause neurological symptoms and death. The welfare of individual otters and the ecological function they provide are mutually reinforcing — healthy otters maintain kelp forests, which support the prey base that maintains otter health. Conservation of sea otter populations is thus simultaneously a welfare, conservation, and climate intervention.