Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
Written by Patricia Newman
Narrated by Book Buddy Digital Media
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
In Elkhorn Slough, an inlet on the California coast, seagrass grows healthy and strong in the shallow water. This healthy seagrass baffled marine biologist Brent Hughes. The scientist expected this estuary to be overrun with algae, causing the seagrass to die. Why was the seagrass thriving?
As Brent investigated, signs pointed to an unexpected player helping to keep the seagrass healthy: sea otters! What do these top predators have to do with an aquatic grass at the opposite end of the food chain? Brent's amazing discovery gave scientists insight into the delicate balance of ecosystems. Follow science in action as Brent conducts the research that led to this major discovery.
Patricia Newman
Patricia Newman wants us all to know we are part of nature. As a Robert F. Sibert Honor recipient, she shows us how our actions ripple around the world, empowers us to find our own connections to nature, and encourages us to use our imaginations to act on behalf of our communities. Patricia likes to think of her books as a contribution that helps make the world a better place for the next generation. Her nonfiction titles have received multiple starred reviews, Orbis Pictus Recommended Awards (NCTE), Green Earth Book Awards, several Eureka! Awards from the California Reading Association, and most have been included in the Bank Street College's Best Books of the Year lists. To learn more, visit her website at patriciamnewman.com or connect with her on social media.
Related to Sea Otter Heroes
Related audiobooks
Otters: River or Sea? A Compare and Contrast Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJungle Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Last Butterflies: A Scientist's Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water's Edge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Turtle Planet: Compassion, Conservation, and the Fate of the Natural World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBirdpedia: A Brief Compendium of Avian Lore Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Swamp to Wetland: The Creation of Everglades National Park Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRefuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Otters’ Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sound of Whales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Secret Life of the City: How Nature Thrives in the Urban Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quicksand Pond Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat If There Were No Sea Otters?: A Book About the Ocean Ecosystem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrphaned Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Daybreak Bond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Circle of Elephants Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Chipmunk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Birding Under the Influence: Cycling Across America in Search of Birds and Recovery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBirding to Change the World: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Raising Kids beyond the Binary: Celebrating God's Transgender and Gender Diverse Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tiger Who Sleeps Under My Chair Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lagoon: Encounters with the Whales of San Ignacio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Walk in the Deciduous Forest, 2nd Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Children's Animals For You
Winnie-the-Pooh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Warriors #2: Fire and Ice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darkness of Dragons (Wings of Fire #10) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Warriors #1: Into the Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dragonslayer (Wings of Fire: Legends): Wings of Fire, Legends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Flames of Hope (Wings of Fire, Book 15) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The True Story Of the Three Little Pigs: By A.Wolf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frog and Toad Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Continent: Wings of Fire, Book 11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gruffalo and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invasion (Animorphs #1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mouse and the Motorcycle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wind in the Willows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Ember: The Green Ember Book I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boken The Dog - It´s All About Me! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bear Called Paddington Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wish Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Days With Frog and Toad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caps for Sale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pax Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Library Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Snow Dragon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wind in the Willows: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Wolf Called Wander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Sea Otter Heroes
2 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I learned so much about otters! This is a super informative book with delightful otter photos. It's a tiny bit dry, but not too bad and would be great for a school project.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sea Otter Heroes has an interesting story to tell. Brent Hughes uses the scientific method to solve a coastal mystery. Why was the sea grass in California’s Elkhorn Slough (pronounced Slew) flourishing when it should have been dead or covered with slimy algae. The farms in the area used pesticides which ran off into the slough and promoted algae growth. He tried again and again to determine why. He began from the bottom up as scientists usually do, but eventually, he used data from a tour boat captain and began to look top down, specifically, the Sea Otters. After many tests and experiments, Brent came to the following conclusion. It turns out that otters eat crabs that eat sea hares that eat algae growing on the grass. Because algae blocks sea grass photosynthesis, the expectation that the sea grass would die does not happen. When more otters eat more crabs, more sea hares survive to eat more algae, resulting in healthier sea grass—a process called trophic cascade. This same process was evident in Yellowstone when the wolves were brought back and the ecosystem became healthier.
The book is not for young children as there is a lot of text and detail, but certainly middlegrade students studying ecosystems would get a lot out of this book. The photographs add so much to the book and make it easier to understand. A good book to have in school and public libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.