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Sea otters exhibit a fondness for eating spiky urchins who, in turn, prey on kelp forests.  When otters feed on urchins and keep their numbers in check, they help kelp forests to grow and allow them to absorb carbon dioxide from the environment.

Showing just how interdependent species are within an ecosystem, a new study has revealed that, at the local level, otter-aided kelp forests can absorb as much as 12 times the CO2 as a kelp forest in which urchins are allowed to flourish.

The authors of this study, which was conducted in the Pacific Northwest, caution that this difference is restricted to otters’ local environments and shouldn’t be seen as a global solution. They do believe, however, that similar species interactions around the world could yield similar results.

Read more in the National Geographic article.