>As to abalone -- We do know that people like to eat abalone and that the
>decline in abalone has also occurred in places where the sea otter has not
>lived for a century. Millions of Californians have eaten abalone, but there
>are not millions of sea otters, and no sea otter collects more abalone than
>an individual can eat. Draw your own conclusions.

They are just doing what they oughtter.

It is possible that the historical abundance of abalones is an unusual
situation brought about by the absence of otters.  By eating sea urchins,
the otters allow kelp and other seaweed to grow extensively, significantly
altering the underwater habitat from its state where otters are
exterminated.  Does anyone have longer historical data, such as middens?
The fossil record for nearshore taxa from rocky coasts is lousy, but
perhaps there are enough data to get a clue on long-term patterns.


Dr. David Campbell
"Old Seashells"
Department of Geological Sciences
CB 3315 Mitchell Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill NC 27599-3315 USA
[log in to unmask], 919-962-0685, FAX 919-966-4519

"He had discovered an unknown bivalve, forming a new genus"-E. A. Poe, The
Gold Bug