What We Learned at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

As Ellen wrote about in an earlier post, we went to Monterey after leaving San Francisco. We had heard wonderful things about the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and we needed a pick-me-up after losing out on a visit to Yosemite.  The first area we came to in the aquarium was the Pacific Kelp Forest, and though the pictures can never capture the beauty and tranquility of tank, we were awed.


The giant kelp forests that lay off the California coastline provide a excellent example of a food web with three key players: sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins. These organisms exist in an important balance where the otters eat the sea urchins, and the urchins eat the kelp. The kelp is critical for establishing a habitat for countless near shore organisms, so too many urchins is a bad thing for the whole ecosystem.

Sea otters don't have blubber, but keep warm with an especially fluffy fur coat that they spend up to six hours grooming each day.  These coats were prized among trappers and led to the near decimation of the otter population (otter decline has also been exacerbated by other environmental factors, like pollution).  These gorgeous creature used to exist over the entire North American west coast, but today it's estimated that only 2,900 individuals remain, mainly in central California Pacific waters. Because otter numbers have decreased, sea urchin populations have grown, and kelp forests are shrinking. As a keystone species in this ecological web, sea otters are required to maintain this unique marine habitat.

At the aquarium we learned about efforts to raise orphaned otters and teach them to hunt and consume sea urchins using surrogate otter moms and lots of human TLC. We hope that these efforts to restore the kelp forests are successful so that future generations are able to encounter these important animals.

During our visit we also learned about the Monterey Submarine Canyon. This two mile deep canyon is very close to the shoreline and gives the scientists there an excellent window into the ocean, allowing them to study deep sea organisms and their unusual benthic adaptations. Remote operated submersibles are used to explore these deep water habitats (think underwater drones), and scientists have made some interesting discoveries as a result. The video below shows the Pacific Barreleye Spookfish.  This unusual fish was recently discovered living between 1,000-3,000 feet deep in the canyon.

This fish has transparent tissues over its disproportionately large eyes that when turned upwards can make use of the sparse light to rob siphonophores of their catch. Siphonophores are jellyfish relatives that bioilluminesce (or emit light). They also live in benthic settings and consume fish attracted to their glowing lights. When a fish is ensnared, the spookfish can observe the struggle and move in for a free meal.


Our time in California was mixed due to events beyond our control. California is a beautiful state with amazing natural resources. There are beautiful coasts, magnificent mountains, prehistoric forests, and deserts that feed much of our country. It's no wonder that literally millions of people want to be there. We enjoyed this leg of our trip, but by the end missed the solace of the wilderness.  As Ellen wrote in the last post, after our day in Monterey we turned east and headed for Arizona.  She's already posted the weather report from our time in Flagstaff, and photos of our time there will come soon.  Pictures from the Monterey Bay Aquarium can be found here.