A decline in the gray wolf ( Canis lupus) population had a similar effect in the U.S. This type of relationship within a food web, in which the feeding habits of a predator trickle down and influence lower levels of the food web beyond the predator’s immediate prey, is called a trophic cascade. The absence of sea otters from the food web resulted in decreased ecosystem diversity. The shrinking forests of algal seaweed forced fish, which used to find shelter within them, into alternate habitats. This bloated population of invertebrates ate away whole forests of kelp to support themselves. Populations of sea urchins and other marine invertebrates, natural prey to sea otters, skyrocketed. When the otter population dropped during the fur-trade era, it initiated a cascade of events that altered the region’s food web. However, the damage to the ecosystem has taken its toll. society has evolved to prioritize species conservation efforts and regulate activities, such as the harvesting of furs, people have gained interest in the preservation and reintroduction of once-hunted apex predators. North American participation in the global fur trade heavily influenced this near-extinction. California coast dropped from more than 10,000 in the 1700s to fewer than 100 by the early 1900s. The southern sea otter population off the U.S. The sea otter is an apex predator, a carnivore at the top of its local food chain. In several ecosystems, over-hunting has left once-top predators unable to regain a foothold in their previous ecosystems. This is just one example of how a human-made, near- extinction event has altered complex multiorganism dynamics connected with a top predator. Due to these lingering effects on the food web, sea otter populations have since had a hard time rebounding. In the case of sea otters, overhunting decimated the sea otter population, and the removal of this top predator from its environment had a negative effect that cascaded down throughout the ecosystem. However, it also took a toll on wildlife not only did it affect the animal populations coveted for their soft furs (for example, sea otters ), but it also affected the broader food web. The booming fur trade of the 19th century catalyzed westward expansion and helped establish the United States as a rising force in the global economy.
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