sea otter population trends worksheetsea otter population trends worksheet

What would you hope to find out? doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.003. It was once thought that humans were the only significant predator of sea otters and, absent human interference, sea otters were an apex predator within the nearshore system. Animating the carbon cycle. Monitoring efforts have varied in frequency and type across years. The draft report identified the potential for sea otters to become trapped in gear used to catch crab, lobster, and finfish. (PDF). Although sea otters are often referred to as an upper trophic level predator, they are not always at the apex. The geographic range of sea otters has fluctuated over the last 300 years. Bodkin, J. L., Dean, T. A., Coletti, H. A., and Ballachey, B. E. (2016). 73, 11611169. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards. Except for the Oregon and Pribilof translocations, which failed for unknown reasons, these efforts were successful and resulted in growing sea otter populations today (Jameson et al., 1982). Adult male Alaskan otters weigh 27 to 39 kg, while females weigh 16 to 27 kg. Finally, with increasing emphasis on the recovery of endangered species and ecosystem function, we need robust methods to quantify the less tangible benefits of recovery to society, including non-use value. The Sea Otter in the Eastern Pacific Ocean North American Fauna. The U.S. A. Small numbers of lobsters (26), octopus (16), and abalone (5) also were identified. For southern sea otters to be considered for removal from threatened species listing, the population index would have to exceed 3,090 for three consecutive years, according to the threshold established under the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan by the U.S. When otters are present, urchins hide in crevices and snack on kelp scraps. Conserv. These complementary sources of carbon provide some resilience to species of suspension feeding invertebrates that depend on particulate organic carbon (POC). Change 5, 10381045. The U.S. Females with pups will occupy areas that provide important resources such as food and protection from wind and waves. Ph.D. thesis. The Commission continues to follow closely ongoing research into the status and trends of this population, both for the coastal parent population and the translocated population on San Nicolas Island. NEW! Larson, S., Jameson, R., Etnier, M., Jones, T., and Hall, R. (2012). 11, 378383. (2013). doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2003.12.008, Monson, D., Estes, J. B. Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service. Conrad, P. A., Miller, M. A., Kreuder, C., James, E. R., Mazet, J., Dabritz, H., et al. 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? Understanding the factors that regulate sea otter density will be challenging and likely require focusing on a few index sites that are representative of the variety of littoral habitats occupied by sea otters around the North Pacific Rim. Estes, J. (2005b). Natl. doi: 10.3354/meps08138, Tarjan, L. M., and Tinker, M. T. (2016). doi: 10.1890/14-0492.1, Mazzillo, F. F. M., Shapiro, K., and Silver, M. W. (2013). 39, 15531571. Many of these challenges will require new tools including the next generation geolocation tag technology that will allow assessments of long-range movements, dispersal and gene flow in various populations. However, this technique is labor intensive, logistically expensive, and not practical for extended periods in remote areas that are accessible only by boat or aircraft. doi: 10.1890/15-0158.1, Rathbun, G. B., Hatfield, B. We analyzed sea otter aerial survey data collected in Glacier Bay from 1999-2012 to determine the most efficient use of sampling effort for obtaining precise annual estimates and detecting trend. Diving and foraging energetics of the smallest marine mammal, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris). Eventually, remnant and introduced populations increased in abundance and distribution, with some becoming contiguous over spatial scales of thousands of kilometers and comprising tens of thousands of individuals. They are isolated not only by distance to the next area of concentration, but also because killer whale predation likely has imposed a strong selection pressure against dispersal (Heithaus and Dill, 2006; Heithaus et al., 2008; Wirsing et al., 2008; Willems and Hill, 2009). (2014). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082477, Menge, B. A., Tinker, M. T., Bodkin, J., Monson, D., and Schneider, K. (2006). The threat to the southern sea otter posed by oil spills prompted its listing as a threatened species in 1977. 79, 379395. From this perspective, the focus would be on predicting the effect of sea otter reoccupation on commercially valuable resources (see Question 6). B., Eby, R., Van Dyke, E., Tinker, M. T., Marks, C. I., Johnson, K. S., et al. Sea otters play a small role in mitigating global . Sign Up. This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about sea otters across 25 in-depth pages. Although the FWS declared the translocation a failure, it is quite possible that otter numbers at San Nicolas will continue to grow. Climatic variation alters supply-side ecology: impact of climate patterns on phytoplankton and mussel recruitment. In 2017, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. In that context, the present state of California sea otters isn't terrible. Sea otters are the only marine mammal that does not have blubber to keep them warm. Predicting ecological consequences of marine top predator declines. Sea otters live in shallow coastal waters in the northern Pacific Ocean. In addition to abundance, trends, distribution, and forage energy intake across seasons and years, these replicated surveys provide information on the precision of data achieved by quarterly survey effort. Availability of prey, entanglement in commercial fishing gear, oil spills, contaminants, disease, shark predation. J. Wildl. doi: 10.1126/science.185.4156.1058, Estes, J. Link will appear as Sea Otter Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 5, 2018. The inventory and monitoring of species, populations, and communities provides one of the fundamental tools for conserving and managing natural resources. Predation doi: 10.1016/j.mambio.2012.03.002, Yeates, L. C., Williams, T. M., and Fink, T. L. (2007). Why isnt the sea otter population now growing as fast as it once was in Washington? Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems. Calculated natural population trends for the Amchitka sea otter since 1910. Geoduck clam (Panopea abrupta) demographics and mortality rates in the presence of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and commercial harvesting. 19, 198216. For the time being, Elkhorn Slough is our best example in California of sea otters using estuarine habitats which have different environmental factors than say, kelp forests and other habitats along the coast. Currently, the Alaska sea otter population is divided into three stocks (Gorbics and Bodkin, 2001). 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. Thus, when killer whale predation on sea otters eventually declines, expansion and recolonization likely will be slow. (4) Making sea otter monitoring comparable across geo-political boundaries: As sea otter populations continue to expand in range and numbers, monitoring will become increasingly challenging, likely resulting in reduced effort and power to detect change. Mamm. Our goals were to provide a comprehensive picture of population trends and abundance estimates at dierent spatial scales and to estimate equilibrium densities of sea otter populations in Southeast Alaska, and how they vary over space, as a tool to help resource managers anticipate Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service. Ecosphere 7:e01604. resources and objectives, sea otter population trends, and the power and resolution of the survey data to document changes in abundance. In coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game and other institutions, ongoing surveys and research continues to inform the southern sea otter recovery plan for the U.S. in giant kelp forests. Sea otters are polygamous, meaning they mate with more than one partner throughout their lifetime. Trop. Mar. Clam gardens are evidence that aboriginal peoples in British Columbia in the past enhanced intertidal clam production by modifying and cultivating sections of beaches and may have excluded sea otters from these areas (Groesbeck et al., 2014). Mamm. doi: 10.1111/eva.12642, Garshelis, D. L., Johnson, A. M., and Garshelis, J. Biol. From 2017 to 2020, we measured a 22-percent per annum increase in population abundance (95-percent confidence interval =1134 percent) with 114 total individuals as of February 2020. The conservation and management of sea otters has benefited from a dedicated research effort over the past 60 years enabling this species to recover from a few thousand in the early 20th century to about 150,000 today. Social organization of sea otters in prince william sound, Alaska. Ancient clam gardens increased shellfish production: adaptive strategies from the past can inform food security today. *Correspondence: Randall W. Davis, davisr@tamug.edu, Future Directions in Research on Marine Megafauna, View all The most recent estimate of sea otter population abundance in Washington was 2,785 individuals (2,632 independents, 153 pups; Jeffries et al. Ser. Acad. 65, 75100. Ecol. A sea otter floats on its back. (2015). Ecol. This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download! Female: Adult female Alaskan sea otters can reach weights of up to 33 kg (72 lbs. (2008). (2018). Immunol. Sea otters are one of the smallest marine mammals in the world, yet they are the largest member of the weasel family. Not ready to purchase a subscription? Sea otters were presumed extinct in California after the 19th century fur trade years, but were rediscovered in the 1930s by the public, when as few as 50 animals were documented persisting in nearshore areas off the coast of Big Sur. Between the late 1970s and early 1990s, the sea otter population range was limited to the outer coast of Washington between Makah Bay and Destruction Washington's current sea otter population Panel A shows sea otter abundance around four different islands from 1972 to 1997 . A., Ricca, M. A., Miles, A. K., and Forsman, E. D. (2008). Expanding kelp and seagrass beds enhance carbon storage (Wilmers et al., 2012; Schmitz et al., 2014; Atwood et al., 2015) and coastline protection from waves and storm surge (Arkema et al., 2013; Atwood and Hammill, 2018). That is, compared to the complex coastline of many areas in Alaska and Canada where remnant or translocated populations could expand in many directions simultaneously (allowing higher population growth rates; Bodkin et al., 1999), the California population could expand only in two directions (north and south). The model can contribute to responsible stewardship of sea otters and other nearshore marine resources. What is the trend between 20-30 years in the kelp population? Oikos 114, 257264. Can. Changes in Alaskan soft-bottom prey communities along a gradient in sea otter predation. Mar. These include sea otter ecotourism, their role as an important component of the nearshore ecosystem (see Question 3), as a competitor for commercial and subsistence shellfish fisheries (see Question 6), and as a species traditionally harvested by Alaska Native groups. Sea otters love grooming themselves and like to keep themselves meticulously clean, always grooming after eating. 389, 8596. But scientists are really not sure how sea otters will respond and thrive in estuary environments, and how their recovery will affect estuary food webs. 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. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the Range expansion predictions based on dispersal distance or reaction-diffusion models had mixed success but generally did not provide definitive biological context for the mechanisms driving population expansion (Lubina and Levin, 1988; Krkosek et al., 2007). The diet of sea otters in the KEJF includes a high proportion of intertidal mussels (58%), which have experienced a period of decline and subsequent recovery despite consistent site-specific settlement of small mussels over time (Coletti et al., 2016; Bodkin et al., 2018). The earliest censuses of sea otters were conducted by the Russian Coast Guard in the Commander Islands from 1924 to 1930 (Barabash-Nikiforov, 1947). Comp. From those sites, we may be able to extrapolate throughout the sea otters range. B., Ames, J. /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB The development of commercial and recreational shellfish fisheries was fueled by the high abundance of benthic invertebrates that developed during the absence of their natural predator, the sea otter. Their fur contains up to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Ecosystems 17, 344359. Zool. Technical Report No. Variation in their current status, and in the rate and pattern of recovery, provides an opportunity to use the comparative approach to elucidate how various natural and human-caused stressors affect population health and dynamics. Recovery of a top predator mediates negative eutrophic effects on seagrass. No survey counts occurred during 2020. q"4\$j$\F,p1*'H`q $UU` FH'[TzVe6sQ=^)f}Ak While sea otters are vulnerable to natural predators such as sharks, the population also faces risks from other factors such as disease, contaminants, harmful algal blooms, availability of prey, and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. What is causing the rapid loss of sea otters in Alaska? WERC collaborates with other research scientists to conduct annual population surveys of the southern sea otter -- a federally listed threatened species. A. Well-known examples are sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands prior to their subsequent decline in the 1990s, as well as populations in Southeast Alaska and Washington State (Bodkin et al., 1999). For communities dependent on the harvest of shellfish, we will need creative solutions, including research and development into new methods of mariculture. More typical are counts made from skiffs, larger vessels or aircraft in which detection probability is reduced relative to shore-based counts (however, see Cortez et al., 2016). Identified the potential for sea otters eventually declines, expansion and recolonization likely will be slow Estes,.. That includes everything you need to know about sea otters are the only marine mammal, the present state California... 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The sea otter population trends worksheet of shellfish, we will need creative solutions, including research and development new... Food and protection from wind and waves like to keep them warm of sea can... Always at the apex changes in Alaskan soft-bottom prey communities along a in! Complementary sources of carbon provide some resilience to species of suspension feeding invertebrates that depend on particulate organic carbon POC! Per square inch one partner throughout their lifetime 10.1890/14-0492.1, Mazzillo, F. M.! At San Nicolas will continue to grow referred to as an upper trophic predator!, K. ( 2006 ) throughout the sea otter posed by oil,... Hair follicles per square inch in 1977 urchins hide in crevices and snack on scraps... Diving and foraging energetics of the smallest marine mammals in the Eastern Pacific Ocean prompted its as... On particulate organic carbon ( POC ) waters in the northern Pacific Ocean North American.. 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Meaning they mate with more than one partner throughout their lifetime t terrible as fast as it was... Threatened species such as food and protection from wind and waves nearshore marine resources ( 16 ) octopus! Largest member of the smallest marine mammal that does not have blubber to keep themselves meticulously,... Per square inch and objectives, sea otter since 1910 ancient clam gardens increased shellfish:... F. M., Shapiro, K. ( 2006 ) in the world, yet they are the member. Fast as it once was in Washington since 1910 the Alaska sea otter posed by oil spills,,... The kelp population, CO: National Park Service expansion and recolonization likely will slow! Marine mammals in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, entanglement in commercial fishing gear, oil spills prompted its as!

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