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191 results for “otters”
Normative behavioral data from the novel One Trail Trace escape reaction task (OTTER)
<p><span>We designed a behavioral task where rats learn to associate two temporally distinct but close-in-time events by means of incidental one-trial learning. </span><span>The task takes advantage of two competing motivations - to avoid light places and to avoid painful stimuli (foot shock) predicted by an acoustic signal. Motivation to avoid a bright light is constant throughout the experiment and is manifested by rats preferring a dark compartment in a light/dark shuttle box. Motivation to stay in the dark is overridden (1) during the training session: when foot-shock (US) (preceded by the acoustic stimulus (CS)) is presented; and (2) during the testing session: when CS, that predicts US, is presented. The latter case occurs when rats successfully form an association between CS and US in the training session and the rat escapes into the light compartment ('responders'). The rats that do not escape ('non-responders' appear to lack this memory as even non-specific fear response (freezing) was absent.</span></p> <p><span>Generally, >50% of rats escape into the lit compartments following CS on the testing day. Importantly, rats do not show a contextual association measured by freezing behavior and preference for a light compartment on the testing day. Moreover, we observed that several putative details in the setup affect the probability of the successful formation of a one-trial trace association. </span><span>Compared to similar tasks, the OTTER task tests incidental learning with no requirement for pre-training. Moreover, the memory formed in the OTTER task consists of two events that do not overlap in time: a characteristic of many episodic memories. The OTTER task presents high-throughput means to study neuronal substrates of incidental temporal binding.</span></p> <p><span></span></p>
Data from: Range reexpansion after long stasis: Italian otters (Lutra lutra) at their northern edge
<p><span>Species range shifts and expansion are subjects of primary research interest in the context of climate warming and biological invasions. Few studies have focused on reexpansion of species that suffered severe declines. Here, we focused on population recovery of Eurasian otters (<em>Lutra</em> <em>lutra</em>) in Italy, first detected in 2003 after a southward range contraction</span><span>. We modelled the rate of range expansion and occupancy at the northern expanding front </span><span>(central Italy)</span><span>, to gain insights into the progress of recovery and mechanisms of reexpansion. We performed a field survey in 2021, </span><span>which redefined the northern limit of distribution further north, in close proximity to the Gran Sasso National Park. Then we analyzed a time series (1985–2021) of distances of northernmost occurrences from the centre of the 1985 range. Using segmented regression, we were able to identify a prolonged stasis of the northern range edge and a simultaneous increase in occupancy from 0.151 to 0.4. A breakpoint was estimated in 2006, after which the range expanded northwards at an average rate of </span><span>5.48 km/year. From 2006 to 2021, the overall northward shift was about 80 km. Occupancy continued to increase until </span><span>2019</span><span> and abruptly declined in 2021. </span><span>These patterns suggest that the reexpansion of the range can be limited by low occupancy at the expanding front. As occupancy increases, long-distance dispersal increases and then range expands. The low occupancy at the current distribution limit of otters may reflect a higher anthropogenic pressure on northern habitats, which could slow down the reexpansion process.</span></p>
Data from: Range reexpansion after long stasis: Italian otters (Lutra lutra) at their northern edge
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Isotopic values of sea otters (modern and archaeological) from Southeast Alaska and Northern Oregon and potential prey items from Southeast Alaska
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Archaeological mitogenomes illuminate the historical ecology of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and the viability of reintroduction
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Data from: Aquatic adaptation and depleted diversity: a deep dive into the genomes of the sea otter and giant otter
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The 153 readable DNA sequences of a diet research on Eurasian otter of Kinmen Island
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Spraints demonstrate small population size and reliance on fishponds for Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in Hong Kong
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Normative behavioral data from the novel One Trail Trace escape reaction task (OTTER)
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Metabarcoding to decipher the fish diet of Eurasian otters and seals
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Country‐wide genetic monitoring over 21 years reveals lag in genetic recovery despite spatial connectivity in an expanding carnivore (Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra) population
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Recovering populations of the southern sea otters suppress a global marine invader
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Behavioral responses across a mosaic of ecosystem states restructure a sea otter-urchin trophic cascade
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Sea otters in a California estuary: Detecting temporal and spatial dynamics with volunteer monitoring
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Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) data
<p>Data submitted here, are those used in the writing of our manuscript entitled "Learning strategies and long-term memory in Asian short-clawed otters (<i>Aonyx cinereus</i>)" which has been submitted to Royal Society Open Science for publication. Abstract for that manuscript is below</p> <p>Social learning, namely learning from information acquired from others or their products, is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. There is growing evidence that animals selectively employ 'social learning strategies', which for example, determine when<i> </i>they should copy others instead of learning asocially, and whom they should copy. Furthermore, once animals have acquired new information, it is beneficial for them to commit it to long-term memory, especially when it concerns the discovery of profitable resources. Research into social learning strategies and long-term memory has covered a wide range of taxa. However, otters (subfamily Lutrinae), popular in zoos due to their sociability and playfulness, remained neglected until a recent study provided evidence of social learning in captive smooth-coated otters (<i>Lutrogale perspicillata</i>), but not in Asian short-clawed otters (<i>Aonyx cinereus</i>). We investigated Asian short-clawed otters' learning strategies and long-term memory performance in a foraging context. We presented novel extractive foraging tasks twice to captive family groups and used network-based diffusion analysis to provide evidence of social learning and long-term memory in this species. A major cause of wild Asian short-clawed otter declines is prey scarcity. Furthering our understanding of how they learn about and remember novel food sources could inform key conservation strategies.</p>
Reductions in the dietary niche of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) from the Holocene to the Anthropocene.
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The sea otter (<i>Enhydra lutris</i>) is a marine mammal hunted to near extinction during the 1800s. Despite their well-known importance as a keystone species, we know little about historical sea otter ecology. Here, we characterize the ecological niche of ancient southern sea otters (<i>E. lutris nereis</i>) using d<sup>13</sup>C and d<sup>15</sup>N analysis of bones recovered from archaeological sites spanning ~7,000 to 350 years before present (N=112 individuals) at five regions along the coast of California. These data are compared with previously published data on modern animals (N=165) and potential modern prey items. In addition, we analyze the d<sup>15</sup>N of individual amino acids for 23 individuals to test for differences in sea otter trophic ecology through time. After correcting for tissue-specific and temporal isotopic effects, we employ nonparametric statistics and Bayesian niche models to quantify differences among ancient and modern animals. We find ancient otters occupied a larger isotopic niche than nearly all modern localities; this likely reflects broader habitat and prey use in pre-fur trade populations. In addition, ancient sea otters at the most southerly sites occupied an isotopic niche that was more than twice as large as ancient otters from northerly regions. The latter likely reflects greater invertebrate prey diversity in southern California relative to northern California. Thus, we suggest the potential dietary niche of sea otters in southern California could be larger than in central and northern California. At two sites, Año Nuevo and Monterey Bay, ancient otters had significantly higher d<sup>15</sup>N values than modern populations. Amino acid d<sup>15</sup>N data indicated this resulted from shifting baseline isotope values, rather than a change in sea otter trophic ecology. Our results help in better understanding the contemporary ecological role of sea otters and exemplify the strength of combing zooarchaeological and biological information to provide baseline data for conservation efforts.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Defining the risk landscape in the context of pathogen pollution: Toxoplasma gondii in sea otters along the Pacific Rim
Pathogens entering the marine environment as pollutants exhibit a spatial signature driven by their transport mechanisms. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris), a marine animal that lives much of its life within sight of land, presents a unique opportunity to understand land-sea pathogen transmission. Using a dataset on Toxoplasma gondii prevalence across sea otter range from Alaska to California, we found that the dominant drivers of infection risk vary depending upon the spatial scale of analysis. At the population level, regions with high T. gondii prevalence had higher human population density and a greater proportion of human-dominated land uses suggesting a strong role for population density of the felid definitive host of this parasite. This relationship persisted when a subset of data were analysed at the individual level: large-scale patterns in sea otter T. gondii infection prevalence were largely explained by individual exposure to areas of high human housing unit density, and other landscape features associated with anthropogenic land use, such as impervious surfaces and cropping land. These results contrast with the small-scale, within-region analysis, in which age, sex and prey choice accounted for most of the variation in infection risk, and terrestrial environmental features provided little variation to help in explaining observed patterns. These results underscore the importance of spatial scale in study design when quantifying both individual-level risk factors and landscape-scale variation in infection risk.
Data from: Measures of effective population size in sea otters reveal special considerations for wide-ranging species
Conservation genetic techniques and considerations of the evolutionary potential of a species are increasingly being applied to species conservation. For example, effective population size (Ne) estimates are useful for determining the conservation status of species, yet accurate estimates of current Ne remain difficult to obtain. The effective population size can contribute to setting federal delisting criteria, as was done for the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis). After being hunted to near extinction during the North Pacific fur trade, the southern sea otter has recovered over part of its former range, but remains at relatively low numbers, making it desirable to obtain accurate and consistent estimates of Ne. Although theoretical papers have compared the validity of several methods, comparisons of estimators using empirical data in applied conservation settings are limited. We combined thirteen years of demographic and genetic data from 1,006 sea otters to assess multiple Ne estimators, as well as temporal trends in genetic diversity and population genetic structure. Genetic diversity was low and did not increase over time. There was no evidence for distinct genetic units, but some evidence for genetic isolation by distance. Notably, estimates of Ne based on demographic data were much larger than genetic estimates when computed for the entire range of the population, but were similar at smaller spatial scales. The discrepancy between estimates at large spatial scales could be driven by cryptic population structure and/or individual differences in reproductive success. We recommend the development of new delisting criteria for the southern sea otter. We advise the use of multiple estimates of Ne for other wide-ranging species, species with overlapping generations, or with sex biased dispersal, as well as the development of improved metrics of genetic assessments of populations.
Data from: Molecular ecology of the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis): non-invasive sampling yields insights into local population dynamics
Non-invasive genetic analysis has been frequently employed to estimate ecological and population parameters for many secretive and/or threatened species. However, Neotropical carnivores have so far been scarcely targeted by such studies. The Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) is a poorly-known species for which local levels of genetic diversity and demographic parameters are virtually absent. We employed non-invasive sampling and amplification of microsatellite loci to investigate population size and density, spatial organization, and relatedness of a wild Neotropical otter population in an Atlantic forest area in southern Brazil. We directly identified 28 individuals and estimate a rather high population density at the study site. Spatial organization analysis indicated that male cumulative displacement was higher than that of females, with the latter sex showing evidence of philopatric behaviour. Also, the reconstruction of genealogical relationships suggests that spatial organization in this otter appears to be influenced by relatedness. By allowing the testing of specific hypothesis targeting these issues, our results provided important glimpses into the Neotropical otter's population biology. Moreover, the findings of the present study reaffirm the power of non-invasive genetics to investigate the biology of this elusive species, and open up new avenues for ecological and demographic studies of other Neotropical carnivores.
Data from: Lactation and resource limitation affect stress responses, thyroid hormones, immune function and antioxidant capacity of sea otters (Enhydra lutris)
1. Lactation is the most energetically demanding stage of reproduction in female mammals. Increased energetic allocation toward current reproduction may result in fitness costs, though the mechanisms underlying these trade-offs are not well understood. Trade-offs during lactation may include reduced energetic allocation to cellular maintenance, immune response and survival, and may be influenced by resource limitation. 2. As the smallest marine mammal, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate necessitating substantial energetic requirements for survival. To provide the increased energy needed for lactation, female sea otters significantly increase foraging effort, especially during late-lactation. Caloric insufficiency during lactation is reflected in the high numbers of maternal deaths due to End-Lactation Syndrome in the California subpopulation. 3. We investigated the effects of lactation and resource limitation on maternal stress responses, metabolic regulation, immune function and antioxidant capacity in two subspecies of wild sea otters (northern: E. l. nereis and southern: E. l. kenyoni) within the California, Washington and Alaska subpopulations. 4. Lactation and resource limitation were associated with reduced glucocorticoid responses to acute capture stress. Corticosterone release was lower in lactating otters. Cortisol release was lower under resource limitation and suppression during lactation was only evident under resource limitation. Lactation and resource limitation were associated with alterations in thyroid hormones. Immune responses and total antioxidant capacity were not reduced by lactation or resource limitation. Southern sea otters exhibited higher concentrations of antioxidants, immunoglobulins and thyroid hormones than northern sea otters. 5. These data provide evidence for allocation trade-offs during reproduction and in response to nutrient limitation but suggest self-maintenance of immune function and antioxidant defenses despite energetic constraints. Income-breeding strategists may be especially vulnerable to the consequences of stress and modulation of thyroid function when food resources are insufficient to support successful reproduction and may come at a cost to survival, and thereby influence population trends.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.