It turns out that sea otters are getting creative with their food — and that creativity could save them as their habitat changes due to rising temperatures, Mongabay reports.
For several years, researchers in Monterey Bay, Calif. have been following 196 tagged southern sea otters and tracking their diets and tool use. Their results, recently published in the journal Science, show that tool use has become a key survival strategy.
Normally, otters mostly eat abalone and sea urchins, Mongabay explains. These creatures are relatively easy to eat.
However, these main food sources are declining because of overfishing and rising ocean temperatures. To get by, otters have turned to other options like clams, mussels, and snails.
The problem is, all of these species have harder shells to protect them from predators like otters. So, to open them up, innovative otters use rocks, shells, and even trash like glass bottles, treating them as hammers and anvils.
Mongabay reveals that this strategy lets otters eat prey up to 35% harder than their preferred foods. It also helps protect their teeth from wear and tear, since otters usually use their teeth to crack open their meals.
Researchers also found that female otters were the most frequent tool users.
"Female otters are likely using tools to overcome their smaller body size and weaker biting ability to meet their calorie demands," Chris Law, the study's lead author, told Mongabay. "Raising pups takes a lot of energy, and the females need to be efficient in their foraging."
Similar increased levels of tool use are seen in female bonobos, chimps, and dolphins, Mongabay reports.
Law also told NPR: "What we're suggesting is that this behavior really allowed them to continue living on despite not having their preferred prey." In other words, tool use is making otters more resilient in the face of the changing climate.
That's important because otters play a key role in their ecosystem. Without them, sea urchins would overrun and destroy the local kelp forests, and marsh crabs would erode the coastline.
The kelp forests, meanwhile, are a key habitat for many marine species, and without them, fish populations would decline — which means people who rely on fish for food would be out of luck.
While otter populations stay healthy — and keep learning new tricks — there's hope for our ocean ecosystems.
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