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.
More audiobooks from Patricia Newman
Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A River's Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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 ratingsTenacious 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 stars3/5Jungle Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Megafauna: Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom 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 ratingsTurtle 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 stars4/5The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale: Restoring an Island Ecosystem Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Birding to Change the World: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmall Mercies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dogs of Avalon: The Race to Save Animals in Peril Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Secret Life of the City: How Nature Thrives in the Urban Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Otters’ Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Humpback Whales: Musical Migrating Mammals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sound of Whales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5What If There Were No Sea Otters?: A Book About the Ocean Ecosystem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Serpent Came to Gloucester Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lagoon: Encounters with the Whales of San Ignacio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnton and Cecil: Cats at Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chasing Lakes: Love, Science, and the Secrets of the Arctic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWoman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFat Time and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Children's Animals For You
The One and Only Ivan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wind in the Willows: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bear Called Paddington Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The True Story Of the Three Little Pigs: By A.Wolf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One and Only Bob Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warriors #1: Into the Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Green Ember: The Green Ember Book I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Days With Frog and Toad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pax Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winnie-the-Pooh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mouse and the Motorcycle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once There Was Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frog and Toad Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grumpy Dragons: Dragons Teaching Kids They Have Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warriors #2: Fire and Ice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Horse Named Sky Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Curious George Rides A Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Old Yeller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gruffalo and Other Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wind in the Willows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mossflower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caps for Sale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dangerous Gift (Wings of Fire #14) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A 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.