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36 results for “sea otters”
SBC LTER: Reef: Sightings of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) near Santa Barbara and Channel Islands, ongoing since 2007
These data describe the number, location and activity or behavior of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) individuals observed along the Santa Barbara Coast and local Channel Islands, during SBC LTER field sampling. Observations began in 2007. Records are collected regularly at SBC core sites and opportunistically while research staff are underway or travelling between sites. Locations are included, but some latitudes and longitudes are approximate.
Data from: Tool use increases mechanical foraging success and tooth health in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
<p>Although it is well documented that tool use can enable the utilization of novel resources, the fitness benefits associated with this innovative behavior are difficult to test. Using longitudinal data from 196 radio-tagged southern sea otters, we found that individuals, particularly females, with frequent tool use gained access to harder, larger prey items. In turn, the mechanical advantages of tool use during food processing translated to reduced tooth damage in tool users. We also found that tool use diminishes trade-offs between access to different prey types, tooth health, and caloric intake that are highly dependent on the relative availability of prey in the environment. Overall, tool use allows individuals to maintain caloric requirements through the processing of alternative prey that are otherwise inaccessible without the use of tools, indicating that this innovative behavior is a necessity for the survival of southern sea otters in environments with depleted preferred prey.</p>
Fig. 1 in Sea otter health: Challenging a pet hypothesis
Fig. 1. Parasites that spillover from wildlife to sea otters. Top cycle: cats (like this bobcat) are the final host for the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, for which sea otters are normally a dead-end host. Opossums drive a similar cycle for Sarcosystis neurona. Although pet cats were once blamed as the primary source of toxoplasmosis in sea otters, new evidence shows stronger associations with locations where wild cats are common (Burgess et al., 2013). Bottom cycle: diving ducks (like this surf scoter) and shorebirds are the final hosts for acanthocephalans that use sand crabs as intermediate hosts. Otters become accidental hosts if they eat sand crabs. Although many papers and the popular press purport that human actions put sea otter health at risk, these parasites are a natural, long-standing problem for sea otters.
Fig. 1 in Molecular characterization and prevalence of Halarachne halichoeri in threatened southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Fig. 1. (A) Scanning electron microscopy of adult Halarachne halichoeri showing opisthosoma (abdomen) with slight constriction only at the anterior end and dorsal shield broader posteriorly than anteriorly with linguiform caudal tip. (B) Scanning electron microscopy of larvae Halarachne halichoeri with postanal setae (bristles) longer than adanal setae.
Fig. 1 in Pathology and epidemiology of nasopulmonary acariasis (Halarachne sp.) in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Fig. 1. Nasopulmonary acariasis in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis). A. A single hexapod larval nasal mite (Halarachne sp.) has wandered out of the nose and is present on the planum nasale (arrow). This highly motile infectious larval stage is most common in the nares and rostral turbinates of the upper respiratory tract (Bar = 6 mm). Inset: Rhinoscopic view of a mass of hexapod larval mites (Halarachne sp.) crawling on the nasal turbinates of a sedated, live, captive sea otter (Bar = 2.5 mm). Image courtesy of Dr Michael Murray, Monterey Bay Aquarium. B. The larger, elongated (cigar-shaped) Halarachne sp. adults typically aggregate in the nasopharynx, but can also be found in the oropharynx, trachea and bronchi. Adult mites can become very densely packed in the nasopharynx, as shown here (Bar = 3 mm). C. The planum nasale was removed during necropsy, exposing the nasal cartilage and turbinate bones. As refrigerated carcasses warm up, larval mites often exit the nasal cavity and are readily apparent (arrows). This is a moderate infestation. Note the symmetry of the nasal cartilage and underlying turbinates (Bar = 12 mm). D. Severe larval mite infestation in a captive sea otter with chronic or recurrent nasopulmonary mite infestation, demonstrating marked asymmetry of the nasal cartilage and underlying turbinates. Severe, diffuse mucosal inflammation and turbinate osteolysis were confirmed on histopathology (Bar = 12 mm). E. Sea otter with a heavy intensity of adult Halarachne sp. attached to the dorsal soft palate in the nasopharynx, and throughout the larynx. Marked, diffuse mucosal erythema is spatially-associated with areas of mite attachment. Preliminary findings from bacterial culture and histopathology suggest that opportunistic bacterial pathogens, such as beta hemolytic streptococci, are often associated with these regions of mite infestation and respiratory mucosal erythema (Bar = 8 mm).
Fig. 2 in Molecular and morphological confirmation of Profilicollis altmani as the cause of acanthocephalan peritonitis in California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Fig. 2. Maximum likelihood phylogeny generated from the concatenation of sequences of loci B, C, D. Species analyzed include: Adineta vaga, Profilicollis altmani (sample haplotype 1 and GenBank (gb)), Profilicollis botulus/Profilicollis major (sample haplotypes 1 and 2), Polymorphus minutus, and Corynosoma enhydri. Branch lengths are scaled to phylogenetic distance and nodes are labeled with bootstrap support values (n = 100 replicates).
Fig. 1 in Molecular and morphological confirmation of Profilicollis altmani as the cause of acanthocephalan peritonitis in California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Fig. 1. Four acanthocephalan morphotypes and their prior identities observed in necropsied sea otters. (A) Corynosoma enhydri adult, (B) Profilicollis altmani, (C) Profilicollis kenti, (D) Profilicollis major. Modified from Hennessy (1972).
Fig. 3 in Molecular and morphological confirmation of Profilicollis altmani as the cause of acanthocephalan peritonitis in California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Fig. 3. Maximum likelihood phylogeny generated from the concatenation of sequences of loci B and D. Species analyzed include: Adineta vaga, Profilicollis botulus/Profilicollis major (sample haplotypes 1 and 2 and GenBank (gb)), Polymorphus obtusus, Polymorphus minutus, Polymorphus trochus, Corynosoma enhydri, Polymorphus brevis, Profilicollis bullocki, and Profilicollis altmani (sample haplotype 1 and GenBank). Branch lengths are scaled to phylogenetic distance and nodes are labeled with bootstrap support values (n = 100 replicates).
Outputs of current speed and sea otter abundance models in Glacier Bay, Alaska
<p>Sea otters are apex predators that can exert considerable influence over the nearshore communities they occupy. Since facing near extinction in the early 1900s, sea otters are making a remarkable recovery in Southeast Alaska, particularly in Glacier Bay, the largest protected tidewater glacier fjord in the world. The expansion of sea otters across Glacier Bay offers both a challenge to monitoring and stewardship and an unprecedented opportunity to study the top-down effect of a novel apex predator across a diverse and productive ecosystem. Our goal was to integrate monitoring data across trophic levels, space, and time to quantify and map the predator-prey interaction between sea otters and butter clams <em>(Saxidomus</em> <em>gigantea</em>), one of the dominant large bivalves in Glacier Bay and a favored prey of sea otters. To do so, we developed a modeling framework to account for both bottom-up and top-down drivers of butter clam abundance and dynamics. For the bottom-up driver, we used the root-mean-square current speed (m/s) predicted by a tidal circulation model of Glacier Bay developed by Drew <em>et al. </em>(2013). For top-down sea otter dynamics, we used the posterior mean sea otter abundance estimates from Lu <em>et al. </em>(2019). This repository contains the current speed raster (100m x 100m resolution) produced by Drew <em>et al. </em>(2013) and the files and model output from Lu <em>et al.</em> (2019) necessary to generate a time series of rasters (400m x 400m resolution raster brick with 26 layers for the years 1993-2018) of estimated posterior mean sea otter abundance. These data layers are used in Leach <em>et al. </em>(2023) to model butter clam dynamics at sampling sites across Glacier Bay.</p>
Outputs of current speed and sea otter abundance models in Glacier Bay, Alaska
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Data from: Tool use increases mechanical foraging success and tooth health in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
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Archaeological mitogenomes illuminate the historical ecology of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and the viability of reintroduction
<p class="CxSpFirst">Genetic analyses are an important contribution to wildlife reintroductions, particularly in the modern context of extirpations and ecological destruction. To address the complex historical ecology of the sea otter (<i>Enhydra lutris</i>) and its failed 1970s reintroduction to coastal Oregon, we compared mitochondrial genomes of pre-extirpation Oregon sea otters to extant and historical populations across the range. We sequenced the first complete ancient mitogenomes from archaeological Oregon sea otter dentine and historical sea otter dental calculus. Archaeological Oregon sea otters (N=20) represent ten haplotypes, which cluster with haplotypes from Alaska, Washington, and British Columbia, and exhibit a clear division from California haplotypes. Our results suggest that extant northern populations are appropriate for future reintroduction efforts. This project demonstrates the feasibility of mitogenome capture and sequencing from non-human dental calculus and the diverse applications of ancient DNA analyses to pressing ecological and conservation topics and the management of at-risk/extirpated species.</p>
Data from: Aquatic adaptation and depleted diversity: a deep dive into the genomes of the sea otter and giant otter
Despite its recent invasion into the marine realm, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) has evolved a suite of adaptations for life in cold coastal waters, including limb modifications and dense insulating fur. This uniquely dense coat led to the near-extinction of sea otters during the 18th-20th century fur trade and an extreme population bottleneck. We used the de novo genome of the southern sea otter (E. l. nereis) to reconstruct its evolutionary history, identify genes influencing aquatic adaptation, and detect signals of population bottlenecks. We compared the genome of the southern sea otter to the tropical freshwater-living giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) to assess common and divergent genomic trends between otter species, and to the closely related northern sea otter (E. l. kenyoni) to uncover population-level trends. We found signals of positive selection in genes related to aquatic adaptations, particularly limb development and polygenic selection on genes related to hair follicle development. We found extensive pseudogenization of olfactory receptor genes in both the sea otter and giant otter lineages, consistent with patterns of sensory gene loss in other aquatic mammals. At the population level, the southern sea otter and the northern sea otter showed extremely low genomic diversity, signals of recent inbreeding, and demographic histories marked by population declines. These declines pre-date the fur trade and appear to have resulted in an increase in putatively deleterious variants that could impact the future recovery of the sea otter.
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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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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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>
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