The Effect of Coastal River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) on the Plant Community of Prince William Sound, AK

The Effect of Coastal River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) on the Plant Community of Prince William Sound, AK PDF Author: Aaron Michael Roe
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9781109180589
Category : Animal-plant relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 108

Get Book Here

Book Description

The Effect of Coastal River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) on the Plant Community of Prince William Sound, AK

The Effect of Coastal River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) on the Plant Community of Prince William Sound, AK PDF Author: Aaron Michael Roe
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9781109180589
Category : Animal-plant relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 108

Get Book Here

Book Description


Communication in River Otters

Communication in River Otters PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : North American river otter
Languages : en
Pages : 15

Get Book Here

Book Description
Explores the function of scent-marking at otter latrines by radio-tagged coastal river otters (Lontra canadensis) in Prince William Sound, Alaska using aerial telemetry over a period of four years. Data on fish densities and marine habitat features were concurrently obtained from scuba transects and aerial surveys in order to determine any association between fish abundance and river otter location, habitat type, and behavior. The results show fish densities only influenced the counts of social otters but old-growth forest was identified as an important habitat variable for both social and solitary otters.

Issues in Ecological Research and Application: 2011 Edition

Issues in Ecological Research and Application: 2011 Edition PDF Author:
Publisher: ScholarlyEditions
ISBN: 1464964092
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 2011

Get Book Here

Book Description
Issues in Ecological Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Ecological Research and Application. The editors have built Issues in Ecological Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Ecological Research and Application in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Ecological Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Recolonization Or Local Reproduction?

Recolonization Or Local Reproduction? PDF Author: Kaithryn E. Ott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : North American river otter
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Coastal river otters (Lontra canadensis) were one of the first resources to recover from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) in Prince William Sound (PWS). Nonetheless, genetic evidence suggests that the numerical recovery of otters in previously-oiled sites was a result of recolonization from adjacent areas rather than local reproduction. Because increased trapping-pressure on otters in recent years occurs mainly in un-oiled areas of PWS, previously-oiled sites may represent important source locations for these animals. We determined whether reproduction has recovered in otter populations inhabiting previously-oiled areas of PWS and Kenai Fjords National Park, using genetic tools and non-invasive fecal sampling. We obtained full genetic profiles for 594 fecal samples at eight hypervariable microsatellite loci. These samples represent 319 unique individuals from seven genetically distinct populations. Current values of F15 and relatedness are similar between oiled and un-oiled areas as opposed to values described for otters in the same areas in 1996-1998. In those years, otters in un-oiled areas had significantly higher values of F15 and relatedness when compared to otters in oiled areas. Our results suggest that river otters in previously-oiled areas of coastal Alaska have likely recovered their reproductive capacity. Therefore, river otters in previously-oiled areas may serve as source populations to support sustainable harvest of river otters in un-oiled areas.

Effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on River Otters

Effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on River Otters PDF Author: R. Terry Bowyer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Lutra candensis
Languages : en
Pages : 62

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Integration of individual-based and population-based studies is essential to understanding effects of pollution on populations and ecosystems. Here we provide an example of such integration from our exploration of effects on the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) on river otters (Lontra canadensis) inhabiting the terrestrial-marine interface in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Our research was divided into 2 phases: an early phase (1989-92) immediately following the oil spill; and a late phase (1996-99), which focused on potential chronic effects of oil contamination in the Sound. We used a variety of measurements that considered the physiological status and health of individual river otters, as well as aspects of their ecology, behavior, and demography. We then conducted meta-analysis to explore interactions between individual-based and population-level data in demonstrating injury and subsequent recovery of otters from ill effects of EVOS. During both phases of our studies, we first conducted intensive research at 2 study sites, which we believed to be oil and non-oiled, and then expanded our investigations throughout similar areas of Prince William Sound. Nonetheless, our data are best interpreted as differences between heavily oiled areas and lightly oiled sites because later information indicated that our reference sites were lightly oiled. Thus we refer to heavily oiled sites as oiled and lightly oil sites as 'nonoiled'"--Page 1

Changes in Diets of River Otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Changes in Diets of River Otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 8

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Community Ecology of Sea Otters

The Community Ecology of Sea Otters PDF Author: Glenn R. VanBlaricom
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642728456
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
The impetus for this volume comes from two sources. The first is scientific: by virtue of a preference for certain large benthic invertebrates as food, sea otters have interesting and significant effects on the structure and dynamics of nearshore communities in the North Pacific. The second is political: be cause of the precarious status of the sea otter population in coastal California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced, in June 1984, a proposal to establish a new population of sea otters at San Nicolas Island, off southern California. The proposal is based on the premise that risks of catastrophic losses of sea otters, due to large oil spills, are greatly reduced by distributing the population among two geographically separate locations. The federal laws of the U.S. require that USFWS publish an Environmental Impact Statement (ElS) regarding the proposed translocation of sea otters to San Nicolas Island. The EIS is intended to be an assessment of likely bio logical, social, and economic effects of the proposal. In final form, the EIS has an important role in the decision of federal management authority (in this case, the Secretary of the Interior of the U.S.) to accept or reject the proposal.

Assessment of the River Otter Population in Prince William Sound

Assessment of the River Otter Population in Prince William Sound PDF Author: Howard N. Golden
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mammal surveys
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
"We present the results of river otter (Lontra canadensis) latrine site surveys and population density estimates conducted in western Prince William Sound during 2009– 2011. We discuss the results of the field survey conducted in 2009 and the DNA analysis and mark-recapture estimations conducted in 2010. We also present results of the recently completed field survey conducted in June 2011, which expanded the investigation to include harvested portions of western PWS. The 2011 work is essential to the testing and development of the mark-recapture methods as well as to providing a better understanding of the potential effects of harvest and refugia on the sustainable yield of river otter populations."--Page 1

Social Organization and Spatial Relationships in Coastal River Otters

Social Organization and Spatial Relationships in Coastal River Otters PDF Author: Gail Marie Blundell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : North American river otter
Languages : en
Pages : 490

Get Book Here

Book Description
"River otters (Lontra canadensis) inhabiting marine environments are top-level predators foraging in the nearshore ecosystem and recently have been recognized as indicators of environmental health. Otters were extirpated from much of their historic distribution because of exposure to pollution and urbanization, resulting in expansive reintroduction programs that continue today. Without an understanding of the influence of factors such as social structure, mating system, or sex-biased dispersal on genetic variation and gene flow among populations, effects of local extirpation and the potential for natural recolonization (i.e., the need for reintroductions) cannot be determined. The objective of this study was to assess social organization and evaluate the importance of factors such as prey availability and kinship on formation of social groups and dispersal of individuals. Fifty-five otters were radio-tracked in three study areas in Prince William Sound, Alaska, from 1996 to 1999, to determine social organization and dispersal rates. Data from 111 individual otters (seven study areas) were obtained to assess relatedness and gene flow (with microsatellite DNA) and diet (with stable isotope analysis of ð13C and ð15N). DNA analysis indicated that kinship had no effect on social organization or spatial relationships among otters. Analyses of diet and home-range size indicated that social groups may be formed to facilitate cooperative foraging, enabling social otters to obtain a better-quality diet more efficiently (i.e., social otters had diets higher in schooling pelagic fishes and had smaller home ranges, compared to nonsocial otters). Male otters were more social than females, but reproductive constraints likely limited opportunities for sociality among females. Both telemetry and genetic data indicated that male and female otters had an equal, low probability of natal dispersal and male otters also exhibited breeding dispersal resulting in gene flow to nearby populations. Genetic data indicated distances for natal dispersal were bimodal; most males and some females settled nearby (within 16-30 km), but some females dispersed 60-90 km. Despite lack of geographic barriers to dispersal in a marine system, dispersal distances were relatively short, indicating that extirpation of local populations would be difficult to correct via natural recolonization unless viable otter populations were available nearby"--Leaves iii-iv.

Final Environmental Impact Statement for Translocation of Southern Sea Otters: Technical support documents

Final Environmental Impact Statement for Translocation of Southern Sea Otters: Technical support documents PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animal introduction
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description