Weighing as much as 5,000 kgs, Stellers sea cows were considerably larger than modern-day sirenians.
Gigantic and extinct, Stellers sea cows would have played an essential function in shaping their environment.
Universal History Archive/ Getty Images
This post is from Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal environments. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.
In the chilly waters off Russias Commander Islands, a Stellers sea cow grazed on kelp leaves. The last staying Stellers sea cow was killed and consumed in 1768 by hungry fur traders who were gathering pelts– from the regions sea otters in particular. According to a new study, these megaherbivores influenced kelp forest characteristics across the northern Pacific Ocean.
In the past, there were far more of these giants and each left their enormous mark on the environments they lived in. Environment environment, modification, and searching loss pushed lots of to termination– with unknown repercussions for environment function.
Stellers sea cows were first formally described in Western science by biologist Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741– less than 30 years prior to they went extinct. Determining more than 7 meters and weighing around 5,000 kgs, Stellers sea cows resembled living sirenians such as manatees and dugongs, although they were about 10 times heavier. Historic accounts recommend Stellers sea cows were unable to fully immerse and grazed near the surface. Before they were erased, a considerable population populated seaside locations around the North Pacific, from Mexico to Alaska to Japan.
Sarah Baker
By analyzing Stellers observations of the sea cows habits and biology, and comparing them with archaeological evidence and knowledge of modern-day seaside environments, Cameron Bullen, a marine ecologist who led the research as part of his masters thesis at the University of British Columbia, checked out how the huge sirenians would have impacted ecosystem characteristics. Their usage of the kelps surface canopy would have permitted more sunlight to reach the understory, benefitting kelps growing listed below. The sea cows grazing could also have impacted the dispersal of kelp, spores, and nutrients within the community and to other parts of the ocean.
A modern analog for the Stellers sea cow is its closest living relative, the dugong, states Helene Marsh, a dugong expert at James Cook University in Australia who was not involved in the research study. Dugongs populate coastal seagrass meadows throughout the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean, Marsh explains. They are ecosystem engineers, she says, that collect seagrass meadows, munch on plants, and spread seeds.
If dugongs disappeared, disallowing any major environment changes, the “community structure of seagrasses would change profoundly over a long time,” Marsh says. Nevertheless, she notes its not likely theyll go extinct whenever soon. Dugongs are vulnerable globally, the population around Australia is flourishing.
Scientists have long wondered how Stellers sea cows would have crafted kelp forests, states Paul Dayton, a marine ecologist with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. He was not associated with Bullens research study however was pleased to see somebody take a major take a look at the eco-friendly role of these extinct sea cows. While Dayton was uncertain about some of Bullens hypotheses, he agrees that sea cows likely would have had a hand in thinning the kelp canopy and increasing the performance and variety of the understory.
Understanding how extinct megafauna modified the environment is key when trying to bring back environments, Bullen states. He adds that often, environment modifications are examined relative to the present when they need to be compared to a historic standard.
” We look at kelp forests, and we see them in all their wonder … however you dont notice the important things that maybe could have been there if it werent for human action or other impacts,” Bullen describes. Thinking of the eco-friendly ghosts of sea cows “is a valuable way of truly attempting to comprehend the past and the present of these communities.” This short article is from Hakai Magazine, an online publication about science and society in coastal communities. Find out more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.
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In the chilly waters off Russias Commander Islands, a Stellers sea cow grazed on kelp fronds. The last staying Stellers sea cow was eliminated and consumed in 1768 by starving fur traders who were gathering pelts– from the areas sea otters in specific. Stellers sea cows were first formally described in Western science by naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1741– less than 30 years before they went extinct. By examining Stellers observations of the sea cows habits and biology, and comparing them with archaeological proof and understanding of modern seaside environments, Cameron Bullen, a marine ecologist who led the research as part of his masters thesis at the University of British Columbia, explored how the huge sirenians would have impacted community characteristics. Scientists have long wondered how Stellers sea cows would have crafted kelp forests, states Paul Dayton, a marine ecologist with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.
Termination
