For more than 200 years, sea otters were exploited for their beautiful pelts.When otter populations declined, populations of their main food source, sea urchins, exploded.Urchins then overharvested kelp, their primary food source, leaving areas barren of kelp and depriving many other species of habitat.This description suggests that the species in this ocean ecosystem that were harmed by sea otter overharvesting included
A) sea otters only.
B) sea otters and kelp only.
C) sea otters and sea urchins only.
D) kelp and species living in kelp only.
E) all organisms living in this particular ecosystem.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The overharvesting of sea otters led to a cascade of ecological impacts, including the overpopulation of sea urchins, which in turn led to the overharvesting of kelp forests. This not only directly affected the sea otters and kelp but also harmed other species that depended on the kelp forests for habitat, thereby affecting the entire ecosystem.

For More Than 200 Years, Sea Otters Were Exploited for Their