The Sea Otter has made many structural adaptations in order to survive better in its natural habitat. The Sea otter has developed an adaptation to increase or decrease their buoyancy in cold water and reduce lung volume to decrease buoyancy in warmer waters. Their feet are webbed which enable them to pick up speed in the water. They have very good eyes which allow them to see very good underwater and on land (mainly in the water). The sea otter has a lot of insulating fur to keep warm. They have roughly 850,000 – 1,000,000 hairs per square inch on their body. Sea Otters have two types of hair. One which forms a waterproof outer layer and the under fur is very dense to keep the animal insulated. It is very important to have all this insulating hair because unlike other animals Sea Otters do not have insulating blubber.
behavioral adaptations:
Sea Otters use their feet to reduce or maximize heat loss when the water temperatures may get to hot or too cold. When the water temperature is cold sea otters reduce heat loos by floating on their backs with their feet out of the water. In contrast when the sea otter is trying to lose heat, they extend their feet out underwater to maximize their surface area. They also have long whiskers growing around their muzzle which help to detect fish. They can do this by detecting vibrations in the water. Also the molars of the sea otter are used for crushing things such as hard shells around animals. Each of these adaptations has helped the sea otter become comfortable in their environment.