What effect does the dying out of otters have on other living creatures and environmental problems?

The population of the European Otter has been declining the last few years and is now getting back to normal. I would like to know what would happen if the otter died out. Would other species be affected badly. Is it important to save the otter or should we concentrate on other environment problems?





Do you have any books or magazines you can recommend?|||You're looking at an effect on the foodweb, mainly. Which can be a pretty big deal. Time and time again, the dying out of a species has created huge problems as another population of animals goes out of control either from no longer having a predator or losing perfectly tasty prey. It also means another population of animals could move into this open niche left by the otter, and who knows what that would do to the ecosystem?





Yes, it's important to save the otter, especially if it is affecting the ecosystem. Is it as important as other environmental problems? Possibly, possibly not. Then again, no one likes to see something go extinct.|||The only animals affected by european otters are going to be the food animals they prey upon- in some areas there will be enough for increased harvest of oysters for example, and most of the predators have been eliminated from Europe, so their numbers may explode. Which might be why they saw a decline originally due to a die off from disease.