Soru

For decades, marine ecologists monitoring the coastal waters of the Aleutian Islands observed a rapid decline in the region’s once-lush kelp forests. Kelp forests, which serve as crucial habitats for diverse marine species, were being systematically deforested, leaving barren rocky zones in their place. Researchers initially suspected that shifts in ocean temperature or pollution were the primary drivers behind this environmental degradation. However, a series of ecological surveys conducted in the late twentieth century revealed a more direct biological cause: the local collapse of the sea otter population. Sea otters are key predators of herbivorous sea urchins. In the absence of otters to keep their numbers in check, sea urchin populations experienced an unprecedented spike. The burgeoning urchin population grazed unchecked on the anchors of the kelp, known as holdfasts, severing the plants from the seafloor. Consequently, the kelp drifted away with the ocean currents, leading to the rapid conversion of vibrant kelp forests into barren urchin barrens. This dramatic shift highlights how the removal of a single predator species can trigger a cascade of ecological destruction throughout an entire coastal ecosystem.

According to the passage, what was the direct cause of the kelp plants detaching and drifting away from the seafloor?