The topic discussed here is the causes for the decline in numbers of the sea otter, which is a small sea mammal found along the western coast of North America from California to Alaska. The professor argues that the reason for the decline in the population of the sea otter is the orcas which are large predatory whales and not the pollution as the passage mentions.
First, the professor argues that there is no presence of the dead sea otters along the shores which is to be expected if their death is caused by deadly diseases caused by pollution. She further solidifies the predator hypothesis by mentioning that the bodies of sea otters are not found because they have been eaten by the orcas.
Second, she argues that the whales which are the primary diet for the orcas have been not found in the region due to the human hunters. This further caused the orcas to change their food habits and prey upon the abundantly available small sea mammals. This explains the decline in the population of other sea mammals such as sea lions and seals.
Lastly, she argues that the uneven pattern of the decline is directly consistent with the distribution of the number of orcas. The shallow and rocky regions which are not easily accessible to the orcas saw no change in the population of the sea otters. She further argues that this deterministic pattern better explains the uneven decline of the sea otters rather than the uneven distribution of pollutants as suggested by the passage.
The topic discussed
here is the causes
for the
decline
in numbers of the
sea
otter, which is a
small
sea
mammal found along the western coast of North America from California to Alaska. The professor
argues
that the reason for the
decline
in the population of the
sea
otter is the orcas which are large predatory whales and not the pollution as the passage mentions.
First
, the professor
argues
that there is no presence of the dead
sea
otters along the shores which is to be
expected
if their death
is caused
by deadly diseases caused by pollution. She
further
solidifies the predator hypothesis by mentioning that the bodies of
sea
otters are not found
because
they have
been eaten
by the orcas.
Second, she
argues
that the whales which are the primary diet for the orcas have been not found in the region due to the human hunters. This
further
caused the orcas to
change
their food habits and prey upon the
abundantly
available
small
sea
mammals. This
explains
the
decline
in the population of other
sea
mammals such as
sea
lions and seals.
Lastly
, she
argues
that the uneven pattern of the
decline
is
directly
consistent with the distribution of the number of orcas. The shallow and rocky regions which are not
easily
accessible to the orcas
saw
no
change
in the population of the
sea
otters. She
further
argues
that this deterministic pattern better
explains
the uneven
decline
of the
sea
otters
rather
than the uneven distribution of pollutants as suggested by the passage.