Publications:
Development of long term protocols to assess potential effects of future oil spills on coastal river otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska. doctoral thesis due late 2004-early 2005

Deliverables:
Monitoring protocol for river otters for the benefit of wildlife managers and conservation biologists.

Project Summary

Coastal river otters, fish predators that feed near the apex of the tropic pyramid, readily accumulate high levels of pollutants. Consequently, this mustelid serves as a sentinel species for monitoring acute and chronic effects of toxins, including biomagnification of heavy metals, and accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons.

This semi-aquatic species is one of the few species affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill (others being salmon and nesting seabirds) that link marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Long term monitoring programs will be crucial for assessing damage and potential recovery from possible future spills. Because of their role as keystone species of the land-margin ecosystem, population estimates of river otters are necessary for monitoring the health of the coastal ecosystem. In this project we will develop monitoring protocols for coastal river otters based on individual identification with microsatellite DNA analysis of feces coupled with mark-site modeling.