Diet of coastal foraging Eurasian otters Emphasi

Authors: Gareth S Parry Sue Burton Bethan Cox Dan W Forman

Publish Date: 2010/10/19

Volume: 57, Issue: 3, Pages: 485-494

PDF Link

Abstract

The importance of the marine environment to Eurasian otters is currently poorly understood Wales is one of the few countries where coastal activity has been recorded and an increase in marine otter sightings could indicate remarkable developments within Welsh populations The trophic niche of coastal otter populations around Pembrokeshire was investigated over a 12month period Marine activity was more widespread than previously thought and marine prey formed the largest component of otter diet although otters also consumed freshwater and terrestrial prey throughout the year Otter diet was very diverse compared to other European coastal populations and a spring contraction in trophic niche width coincided with the estimated timing of breeding activity Seasonal variation in prey composition was predominantly due to differences in the consumption of alternate prey types In areas where wetlands are fragmented and populations of freshwater fish are declining the marine environment may become an increasingly important habitat for otters It is necessary to define the historical importance of coastal populations to otter conservation Coastal areas are often subject to pressure from human activities so the impact of disturbance needs to be assessed Importantly there is no verified otter survey method for coastal areas so the use of marine habitat is likely to be underestimatedWe are very grateful to all of the volunteers who gave up their time to make this study possible and to the Pembrokeshire marine SAC group and Pembrokeshire Biodiversity Partnership for planning and coordinating the project Thanks to Rob Parry from the Welsh Wildlife Trust for delivering training workshops for the volunteers and to Geoff Liles for providing advice and access to his reports This work was funded through the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC Relevant Authorities GroupWe confirm that this study fully complied with current UK law and consideration was paid to the potential impact on the study organisms prior to commencement The data providers and NBN Trust bear no responsibility for the further analysis or interpretation of the data and/or information obtained through the NBN gateway

Keywords: