keystone species

I have posted a bunch about otters on this blog- my family has been very passionate about them over the last few years- here is a thought about them that I have been thinking about a lot lately-

otters are known as a keystone species.
that means that they are like a pin that is holding their environment together- when you pull them out, it all falls apart.

because of their biological make-up, otters need to eat a lot of food every day, just to stay alive in the cold pacific ocean.
they eat sea urchins- lots and lots of sea urchins.
sea urchins eat the kelp forest- and if the otters aren't present to keep the sea urchin population low, then the sea urchins will completely wipe out the kelp forest, and everything that lives in it.

the historians tell us that when sea otters were hunted for their fur, they went essentially extinct. when that happened, the sea urchins came in and wiped out the kelp forest; and when the kelp forest died, the fish died; and when the fish died, the whales and the seals and the dolphins all left. the entire area became a ghost town- on the land and under the sea.

but then the otters came back.
and they ate up all of the sea urchins.
and the kelp forest grew back.
and the fish came back.
and so did the seals, and the sea lions, and the dolphins, and the whales.
now the monterey bay area is as lush as the rainforest. it is a healthy, thriving environment-
and its because of these hungry, furry, cute little sea otters looking for some lunch. 

before I get to the point I want to make, I want to point out another sea otter fact:
the monterey bay aquarium has been rehabilitating injured or abandoned sea otters.
when these otters are ready to go back to the wild, the aquarium sends them to a place called elkhorn slough, in moss landing, ca. this is a good place for otters, because the water isn't rough, and there is lots to snack on.
the only drawback is that the water is murky and muddy.
at least it was. 
after the otters arrived, they cleaned the place up.
now the water is much, much cleaner. 
more and more animals are flocking to the area. 
we often kayak there and see seals, sea lions, jelly fish, large birds, and of course, otters.

so here is the point that I have been thinking about:
when otters leave an area, it falls apart.
but when they arrive, they bring life with them.
they clean things up. 
they make it hospitable for other animals to live there.
when you introduce an otter to a new environment, its just a matter of time before its teeming with life.
how do they do it? by being an otter. by swimming, diving, and eating.
are they stressed out? not really. 

I want to be a human otter- a one-person keystone species.

I want to bring life with me in every environment that I enter.
I want to bring organization and cleanliness. 
I want to create environments that welcome in others and where everyone can find joy and purpose.
I want to be the pin that holds environments together so that its noticeable when I'm there, and when I have left. 
I want to identify threats and eliminate them.
I want to make a difference- just by being me. 
and I want to do it all with an otters attitude:
no stress- just floating, and swimming, and playing, and snacking.

that's my challenge to myself, and to you:
go and be an otter today:
have fun, and change the world.

God is love.
-rev-rob