Overfishing off the New Zealand coast had drastically reduced the populations of fish and lobsters. The fish and lobsters normally eat sea urchins, but with fewer predators, the sea urchin population increased rapidly. How did an increase of sea urchins impact the biodiversity in the region?

- The age structure of the predator fish impacted the sea urchin population.
- Kelp forests that provided shelter for other species were depleted by the sea urchins.
- Fewer lobsters and predator fish decreased other prey species that lived in the region.
- The age structure of the sea urchin population made them more aggressive predators.

Sea urchins reside on the seafloor wherein they forage on macroalgae, together with large kelp. If their populations are left unchecked by predation, they are able to decimate kelp forests and prevent kelp from developing. that may rework a thriving network of kelp into an oceanic desert, referred to as an urchin barren.

Sea urchins will often completely eliminate kelp plant life by means of ingesting it through their holdfasts. Other invertebrates determined in kelp forests are sea stars, anemones, crabs, and jellyfish.

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