Enhydra lutris (Sea Otter)Throughout their range, Sea Otters use a variety of near shore marine environments and 8. Bodkin et al. 2. 00. Their classic association is with rocky substrates supporting kelp beds, but they also frequent soft- sediment areas where kelp is absent (Riedman and Estes 1.
De. Master et al. Burn and Doroff 2. Kelp canopy is an important habitat component, used for foraging and resting (Riedman and Estes 1. They are found most often in areas with protection from the most severe ocean winds, such as rocky coastlines, thick kelp forests, and barrier reefs. Although they are most strongly associated with rocky substrates, sea otters can also live in areas where the sea floor consists primarily of mud, sand, or silt. Individuals generally occupy a home range a few kilometres long, and remain there year- round. Sea Otters forage in rocky and soft- sediment communities on or near the ocean floor.
Endangered Species And Sea Otters Pdf Writer
The maximum confirmed depth of dive was 9. Newby 1. 97. 5); however, recent studies using time- depth recorders implanted in Sea Otters indicate average maximum forage depths of 5.
Sea otters are the smallest marine mammal and are most closely related to river otters. Adult sea otters. Threatened and Endangered Species Northern Sea Otter. Print PDF of Section or Chapter. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Sea Otter as Endangered. The extent of illegal trade in South American. Endangered Species list and classified as threatened. (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).The sea otter is also fully protected under California law. Endangered and Threatened Marine Species. (28 listed 'species') Manatees and sea otters are also listed. Marine Species under NMFS Jurisdiction.
Endangered Species. Sea otters were reintroduced to Washington in 1969 and. Sea Otter Fact Sheet. crabs, snails and about 40 other marine species. Sea otters eat approximately. ** The Endangered Species Act. Persecution and Hunting Otters. This species is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of. Some Sea Otters eat.
Bodkin et al. 2. 00. Sea Otters are weakly territorial (Kenyon 1. Loughlin 1. 98. 0). Only adult male Sea Otters establish territories.
Males patrol territorial boundaries and attempt to exclude other adult males from the area. Females move freely between and among male territories.
Groups of male and female sea otters generally rest separately. Sea Otter annual home ranges can occupy up to 0. Kenyon 1. 96. 9, Loughlin 1. Typically, female Sea Otter home ranges are about 1. Riedman and Estes 1.
Jameson (1. 98. 9) found that territorial adult males occupied a mean home range of 4. Winter- spring mean home range size of territorial adult males that remained in female areas was 7.
The diet of Sea Otter consists almost exclusively of marine invertebrates, including sea urchins, a variety of bivalves such as clams and mussels, abalone, other molluscs, crustaceans, and snails. Its prey ranges in size from tiny limpets crabs and giant octopuses (Estes 1.
Sea urchins, abalones and rock crabs are the principal prey of Sea Otters in newly reoccupied habitats of central California (Vandevere 1. Kvitek et al. 1. 99. Doroff and De. Gange 1. Where prey such as sea urchins, clams, and abalone are present in a range of sizes, sea otters tend to select larger items over smaller ones of similar type (Kvitek et al. In California, it has been noted that Sea Otters ignore Pismo Clams smaller than three inches (7 cm) across. Only in the Aleutian archipelago were Sea Otters observed to regularly eat fish, which could comprise up to 5.
The fish species eaten were usually bottom dwelling and sedentary or sluggish forms, such as the Red Irish Lord and Globefish (Estes 1. They also consume crab, clam, mussels, turban snails, sea cucumbers, squid, octopus, chitons, tubeworms, large barnacles, scallops, and sea stars (Wild and Ames 1. Riedman and Estes 1. Bivalve molluscs are excavated by digging in sand or mud bottoms and are the most common prey in soft- sediment communities (Calkins 1. Kvitek et al. 1. 99. Doroff and De. Gange 1. Male Sea Otters reach sexual maturity around age five or six, but probably do not become territorial or reproductively successful for two or three subsequent years (Riedman and Estes 1.
Most female Sea Otters are sexually mature at age four or five though some are mature as early as 2. Kenyon 1. 96. 9, Jameson and Johnson 1. Monson et al. 2. 00. Monson and De. Gange 1.
Biela 2. 00. 7). Sea otters apparently are polygynous, although the exact nature of the mating system may vary. Females normally give birth to a single pup that weighs 1. Riedman and Estes 1.
Twinning has been documented in Sea Otters (Williams et al. Jameson and Bodkin 1. Pups remain dependent upon their mothers for about six months (Jameson and Johnson 1. Longevity in Sea Otters is estimated to be 1.
Riedman and Estes 1.