Biol. Following the modern discovery of sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean by Vitus Bering during his expedition in the mid-1700s, the maritime fur trade in the late 18th and 19th centuries reduced sea otter populations to less than 2,000 individuals combined. LC and LN wrote Question 6. Presenters: Angela Doroff, Science Director of the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, and Sunny Rice, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory . Look for historical information that might make your narrative more interesting. 62, 26482658. Dramatic increase in sea otter mortality from white sharks in California. J. Zool. B. Home Facts Privacy About Blog Contact Terms. Analysis of 13 years of demographic and genetic data from 1,006 sea otters to assess multiple effective population size estimators, as well as temporal trends in genetic diversity and population . They estimated the impact of killer whales on sea otter populations by comparing trends in population size and survival rates of individually marked otters between two adjacent locations on Adak Island: Clam Lagoon and Kuluk Bay. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Both perspectives recognize the important role sea otters play in structuring the shallow, littoral ecosystem, but the perspectives differ in time and space. We pride ourselves on being a safe website for both teachers and students. Historic and contemporary status of sea otters in the North Pacific, in Sea Otter Conservation, eds S. E. Larson, J. L. Bodkin, and G. R. VanBlaricom (London: Elsevier), 4361. Between 1911, when hunting was prohibited, and 1972, when the MMPA was passed, these otters recolonized more than 200 miles (370 kilometers) of the California coast. Explain. Also, no sea otters were ever observed foraging in these areas, probably due to the lack of inverte- brates (author's pers. Sea otter feeding on a California sea cucumber (Apostichopus californicus). Prog. 481, 7180. Historically, sea otters numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the North Pacific Ocean, but due to the fur trade, their numbers plummeted in the early 1900s. (2005b). A common theme throughout these seven challenges is the need for information on interannual movements of sea otters, which affects dispersal, habitat use and gene flow. Contribution of specific dynamic action to heat balance and thermoregulation in the sea otter Enhydra lutris. Potential economic benefits include ecotourism in communities affected by sea otter range expansion (Loomis, 2006). You print it front to back and fold it like a brochure. Sea otters are a keystone predator because they can have significant direct and indirect effects on nearshore ecosystems (Estes and Palmisano, 1974; Estes and Duggins, 1995). 5 0 obj 6, 2840. Sea otters rely on their fur for insulation, which cannot be compromised by the attachment of external satellite telemeters used with many other marine mammal species. The limited size of sea otters home ranges and differences in growth rates among areas indicate that their populations are demographically structured at spatial scales as small as several hundred km2 (Bodkin, 2015), but how do we distinguish one population from another? Ecol. As a result, research will need to focus on a few sites that are representative of the variety of littoral habitats occupied by sea otters around the North Pacific Rim. For example, the 3-year average of total otters for 1998 is the average of the total counts for 1996, 1997, and 1998. The population decline likely began in the mid-1980s and declined at a rate of 17.5%/year in the 1990s. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Much has been learned about the drivers and effects of sea otter population growth and range expansion because of systematic and regular population surveys, tagging and tracking programs, and diet studies throughout their range. Loss of genetic diversity in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) associated with the fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries. Why isnt the sea otter population now growing as fast as it once was in Washington? B. 1, A to C).Eelgrass meadows can consist of clonal perennial plants, which propagate vegetatively through rhizomes; sexually reproducing annual plants, which produce flowers and seeds; or a combination of . Competition between recolonizing sea otters and human fisheries for invertebrates (e.g., clams, crabs, abalone), whose populations expanded in the sea otters absence, has led to conflict in some parts of their range (Carswell et al., 2015). Sea otter pups are susceptible to predation by bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in areas where they co-occur (Sherrod et al., 1975; Anthony et al., 2008). (2015). The sea otter population decline in the western Aleutian Islands prompted the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to designate this stock as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2005. Contemporary abalone and oyster mariculture, when conducted using suitable methods, appear to be able to coexist with sea otters. Influence of sea otters on soft-bottom prey communities in southeast Alaska. /ca 1.0 Explain how the otter population in Washington has changed from 1970 to now. Teacher Resources. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.03.096. If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source. is a free, award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news to learners, parents and educators. (2008). BIOLOGY205 - Population Trends1 2 2 .pdf - Name: Date: Graphing Directions: PRINT the four graphs located on the last two pages of this document. (7) Recognizing sea otters as prey for the purposes of conservation and management in some circumstances: Sea otters are experiencing the top-down effects of higher-level predators in both California and the Aleutian Islands, which warrants consideration in sea otter management plans. The USGS range-wide sea otter census has been undertaken each year since 1982, using consistent methodology involving both ground-based and aerial-based counts. (2018). Cortez, M., Wolt, R., and Davis, R. W. (2016). Ph.D. thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. doi: 10.1890/15-0158.1, Rathbun, G. B., Hatfield, B. Diet A sea otter has a metabolic rate much higher than most mammals of similar size, and must consume large quantities of food. Part 2 Top Stud. In Russia, sea otters have a conservation status that prohibits capture or hunting except by special license for science or display purposes (Nichol, 2015). 8 0 obj Beyond monitoring to detect trends or changes in sea otter abundance, we need to identify underlying causes of change, a decidedly more difficult task when approached after the change has occurred, but facilitated by incorporating likely mechanisms in monitoring design (see Question 3). (1962). The average adult sea otter must eat 20 to 30 percent of its body mass in food each day just to meet its energy requirements. Indirect effects of sea otters on rockfish (Sebastes spp.) Vocabulary worksheets. (1990). doi: 10.3354/meps082103, Kvitek, R. G., Oliver, J. S., DeGange, A. R., and Anderson, B. S. (1992). Despite the translocation having been declared a failure, the population on San Nicolas Island continues to increase. The research is being led by a partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey, University of California-Santa Cruz, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (ESNERR), with assistance from other partners. The first efforts to restore sea otters to parts of their historical range took place from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s in a series of translocations from Amchitka Island and Prince William Sound to the Pribilof Islands in Alaska, Southeast Alaska, Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and Washington and Oregon states (Jameson et al., 1982). A. Sea otters are found almost everywhere in the world. U.S.A. 110, 1531315318. Herrick, Jr, and Hanan, D. (1988). The U.S. Specifically, all extant sea otter populations have low genetic variability because of the population bottlenecks created by the maritime fur harvest (Larson et al., 2002b, 2015). Biol. In the first 10 years, at what point did carrying capacity appear to be? J. Arch. Acad. The total economic value framework used in environmental economics additionally recognizes non-use value, which comprises existence value (the benefit obtained from knowing a species continues to exist) and bequest value (the value of preservation so that opportunities for use or observation will exist in the future). In addition, continuing sources of information are needed for: (1) the abundance and distribution of prey, (2) sea otter dietary preference and consumption, (3) seasonal and annual primary productivity and oceanographic conditions, (4) predator abundance, and (5) the magnitude and sources of mortality, including the presence of diseases that decrease sea otter longevity or affect their prey. The monitoring program, at its basic level, includes quarterly seasonal surveys of population abundance, distribution, and foraging activity. SOP for Monitoring Intertidal Bivalves on Mixed-Sediment Beaches - Version 2.0: Southwest Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network. Copyright 2019 Davis, Bodkin, Coletti, Monson, Larson, Carswell and Nichol. What would you hope to find out? Along the California Coast from north of Monterey, South to Point Conception. Mar. The U.S. thesis, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Sea otters are a keystone predator in the nearshore food web of the north Pacific Rim (Estes and Duggins, 1995). Census counts may be made from shore, the water or the air. An overview of sea otter studies, in Marine Mammals and the Exxon Valdez, ed. End of preview. For sea otters, dispersal distance is one of the least studied aspects of their biology, and developing new technologies to study dispersal should be a high priority for future research. 23, 202210. (2013). Weitzman, B. P. (2013). J. To find out more, see our cookie policy. 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. This question is relevant to predicting population trends (i.e., describing the status of populations) and developing management policies, which will contribute to the full recovery of sea otters to pre-exploitation levels, reoccupation of their historical range, and restoration of nearshore ecosystems (Davis et al., 2019). However, there is a delay between the time when sea otters expand into an area and when commercial-scale harvesting of shellfish becomes inviable, the length of which is somewhat species-dependent. We used precision estimates and conducted simulation analyses to assess the power of detecting 10-percent or greater decreases in population growth rates and how this power is likely to change with years of observation, survey effort, and the size of decrease. RD organized and integrated this article and wrote the Introduction, Question 2, and the Conclusion and Recommendations. Hunting has been banned, and now poor water quality and lack of quality habitat are the main threat to sea otters. Prey species have evolved ways to avoid predators: fast growing resistant to storm and wave damage support many marine plants and animals Threats to Kelp Forests Giant kelp anchored to ocean floor and grow toward surface: - - - kelp plants What do sea urchins prey on? Worksheet completed alongside the hhmi BioInteractive movie: Some Animals Are More Equal than Others: Keystone Species and Trophic Cascades. This pattern suggests that Gulf-wide mortality factors are influencing large mussel abundance, whereas site-specific factors are influencing the settlement and survival of smaller mussels (Bodkin et al., 2018). $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? doi: 10.1890/14-0492.1, Mazzillo, F. F. M., Shapiro, K., and Silver, M. W. (2013). Coinciding with recent population growth, the sea otter distribution, which previously tended to concentrate on the west side, appears to have shifted toward an expansion of use in the north and especially greater seasonal use in the north and south during winter and spring. Solutions may reside in better defining demographically distinct populations (see Question 1) and reallocating effort to optimize monitoring both spatially and temporally. (PDF). Factors that regulate female densities are not well known, but small annual home ranges are suggestive of behavioral mechanisms. because of these species reliance on kelp or seagrass habitat during critical phases of their life history. Draw a dashed line across the graph to illustrate where you figured out carrying capacity should be. Sea otter population declines have also been observed further east in the Kodiak archipelago. obs.). Theor. The sea otter is now an important component of nearshore ecosystems from California to Japan. doi: 10.1080/08920750600860282, Lubina, J. Organizations engaged in sea otter management and conservation will benefit from collaboratively designing sea otter monitoring protocols across the North Pacific that will optimize efforts, enable the detection of trends and causes, and provide for spatial contrasts of those variables over time (Coletti et al., 2016). J. Parasitol. 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