The Effects Of Different Levels Of Environmental Enrichment On Behavior In Captive Southern Sea Otter Enhydra Lutris Nereis
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The Effects Of Different Levels Of Environmental Enrichment On Behavior In Captive Southern Sea Otter Enhydra Lutris Nereis
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Author : Gina Marie Fisher
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2005
The Effects Of Different Levels Of Environmental Enrichment On Behavior In Captive Southern Sea Otter Enhydra Lutris Nereis written by Gina Marie Fisher and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2005 with Captive wild animals categories.
Ontogeny Of Energetic Demand And Diving Ability In The Southern Sea Otter Enhydra Lutris Nereis And Implications On Diving And Foraging Behavior
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Author : Nicole Marie Thometz
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2014
Ontogeny Of Energetic Demand And Diving Ability In The Southern Sea Otter Enhydra Lutris Nereis And Implications On Diving And Foraging Behavior written by Nicole Marie Thometz and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014 with categories.
The integration of physiological and behavioral studies can yield valuable information important to the conservation and management of imperiled species. In the following chapters, I examine a suite of physiological characteristics and behavioral attributes of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) across a variety of life stages and discuss resulting population level consequences in this threatened species. In my first data chapter (Chapter 2), I use open-flow respirometry to determine age- and activity- specific metabolic rates of immature southern sea otters throughout ontogeny. These data are then combined with activity budgets of wild sea otters to determine the energetic cost of pup rearing for adult females. In Chapter 3, I determine age-specific oxygen storage capacity and diving abilities of sea otters from birth through adulthood. Finally, in Chapter 4, I examine the foraging behavior of sea otters off the coast of central California. I found that sea otter pups have elevated mass-specific metabolic rates in comparison to adult conspecifics, which are highest for molting pups and begin to approach adult levels around the average age of weaning (6 mo.). In addition, immature sea otters have limited blood and muscle oxygen stores throughout dependency, which result in a limited capacity for diving and high dependence on adult females throughout lactation. The high energetic demands of pups result in elevated field metabolic rates (FMR) for lactating females. Female FMR is increased 17% by three weeks postpartum and continues to increase throughout lactation. By the average age of weaning female FMR is increased 96% above pre-pregnancy levels. These heightened energetic demands are reflected in the foraging behavior of wild sea otters. Adult females appear behaviorally constrained by dependent young during an already energetically costly life stage. Both physiological and behavioral data suggest that it takes sea otters approximately two years to develop comparable diving abilities to adults; however, individuals at this stage are likely inefficient foragers when compared to adults. Together these data indicate that late-lactation and the first years post-weaning are the most physiologically challenging life stages for sea otters and that these groups are likely the most sensitive to disturbance and resource limitation. The high energetic demands of dependent pups influence body condition, parental provisioning strategies, and life history decisions in adult females. In addition, high energy demands, physiological limitations, and behavioral naivete make maintaining positive energy balance difficult for juvenile and sub-adult sea otters. Ultimately, these chapters provide novel information regarding age-specific energy demands, physiological abilities, and foraging behavior of southern sea otters across a variety of life stages, and elucidate mechanisms underlying current population level trends.
Environmental Enrichment Effects On The Activity Of A Nearctic River Otter
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Author : Kenneth O. Nelson
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2009
Environmental Enrichment Effects On The Activity Of A Nearctic River Otter written by Kenneth O. Nelson and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009 with Captive wild animals categories.
"Environmental enrichment has been used to identify and change a stimulus in a captive environment to increase the animal's welfare by bringing out species-appropriate behaviors and combating stereotypic behaviors. One captive North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) was presented four enrichment initiatives (live fish, frozen fish, swim tube, PVC scent tubes) in a random order and placement throughout the exhibit. Baseline data showed that the otter preferred to spend mornings in the lower level of the exhibit and the afternoons in the upper level. Food initiatives (i.e. live fish, and a lesser degree frozen fish) were most effective in deterring a stereotyped swimming pattern, but effects were confined to the times in which the initiatives were present, and more effective when applied in the afternoon than in the morning. This suggested that the stereotyped behavior was functional, occurring out of a lack of ability to forage. Variability existed in behavioral diversity between initiatives, and all initiatives increase exhibit utilization through exploratory behaviors and the expression of more naturalist behaviors. Results should be used by animal care staff to make corresponding changes to husbandry practices to improve the otter's welfare."--Abstract.
Final Environmental Impact Statement For Translocation Of Southern Sea Otters Technical Support Documents
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1987
Final Environmental Impact Statement For Translocation Of Southern Sea Otters Technical Support Documents written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1987 with Animal introduction categories.
The Effect Of Environmental Enrichment On Agility Exploration And Anxiety Levels Of Hatchery Reared Fish
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Author : Leah Giralico
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2016
The Effect Of Environmental Enrichment On Agility Exploration And Anxiety Levels Of Hatchery Reared Fish written by Leah Giralico and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016 with categories.
In an attempt to battle the negative effects of habitat degradation and over-exploitation on wild fish populations, researchers have begun to look to hatcheries as a component of ex-situ conservation. Hatcheries are utilized as breeding grounds for fish, which are ultimately released as a way to bolster and help maintain wild populations Unfortunately, released fish often display behavioral deficits and are unable to function as effectively as their wild counterparts, with large proportions of released fish lost to mortality. It is hypothesized that poor post-release survival arises because of adaptation to captivity, relaxed natural selection in the captive breeding environments, and the experience of being maintained in a safe, unchanging captive environment. This thesis project examined the potential benefits of environmental enrichment in a captive breeding environment on the behavior and swimming performance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Trout aged 11 months, were exposed to environmental enrichment by adding and exposing the fish to different kinds of novel objects, such as plastic models of aquatic weeds, PVC pipes, and floating plants that provided the fish with areas to explore, hide and interact. After two months of enrichment, the fish were tested in an Open Field Novel Object Test to assess their explorative nature, levels of anxiety and their overall swimming agility. These assays revealed that compared to fish reared in standard hatchery conditions, the trout reared in enriched conditions showed a lower level of anxiety and a higher level of activity. The enriched fish were also more explorative, but there were no clear effects on swimming performance and the fish were not significantly more agile in terms of the number of collisions the fish made within the test tank walls.
Behavioral Effects Of Environmental Enrichment On Two Captive Bottlenose Dolphins Tursiops Truncatus
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Author : Jill M. Natwick
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1996
Behavioral Effects Of Environmental Enrichment On Two Captive Bottlenose Dolphins Tursiops Truncatus written by Jill M. Natwick and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1996 with Bottlenose dolphin categories.
Potential Environmental Enrichment For Zebrafish Used In Regulatory Toxicology
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Author : Luanne Wilkes
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2011
Potential Environmental Enrichment For Zebrafish Used In Regulatory Toxicology written by Luanne Wilkes and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011 with categories.
The aim of environmental enrichment is to alter the environment of a captive animal in a way that results in improved mental and physical welfare. The technique has been utilised effectively for many years for captive mammals in a variety of settings. However, until now it has never been considered as a way of improving the welfare of aquatic animals such as fish. Fish that are used in regulatory toxicology studies are at present maintained solely in barren tank environments. Little is known about how these types of environments affect the well-being of the animals residing there and whether they impact either physiological heath or behavioural repertoire. This thesis aims to address this gap in the knowledge regarding the potential for environmental enrichment to improve the welfare of fish used in regulatory toxicology. More specifically it looks at two types of enrichment and the effects of these on the commonly used model species, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). The first type of enrichment studied was glass rod structures of varying heights provided to increase tank complexity and provide refuge. The glass structures did not produce any quantifiable benefits in unstressed fish and appeared to delay the formation of stable social hierarchies. When fish were stressed by a period of chasing, the presence of the glass rods appeared to reduce the magnitude of the cortisol response. Whilst this could be viewed as a potential benefit, it was felt that it would not outweigh the costs of this type of enrichment. The second type of enrichment studied was provision of airstones. Again, no clear evidence was found that fish in tanks with airstones experienced an improvement in welfare. The main observation was the vast increase in mortality in tanks containing these airstones, in particular, those of a smaller size. Regardless of the physiological cause underlying this result, this can only be viewed as a negative consequence and one that appears to rule out airstones as an effective form of enrichment for this species and strain of fish. It was also observed that both stress and the presence of enrichment influenced the absolute deviation from the mean in several endpoints. Since changes in endpoint variation will have effects both on the number of animals required to statistically measure environmentally relevant effects this is a factor that should be considered when researching methods of environmental enrichment. Finally, results from these studies suggest the possibility that laboratory zebrafish do not require the addition of environmental enrichment to tanks in order to promote maximum welfare. Furthermore, as considerable costs would be involved in implementing many types of enrichment (relating to manufacture, cleaning, incompatibility of results with previous studies etc.) it is likely that observed benefits would have to be both substantial and well established in order for changes in regulatory guidelines to take place. For a species such as zebrafish that are extremely easy to breed and maintain in the laboratory with minimal amounts of disease, social problems or mortalities, it may be that current conditions are satisfactory.
Photo Identification Summer Activity Pattern Estimated Field Metabolic Rate And Territory Quality Of Adult Male Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris In Simpson Bay Prince William Sound Alaska
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Author : Shannon Elizabeth Finerty
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2010
Photo Identification Summer Activity Pattern Estimated Field Metabolic Rate And Territory Quality Of Adult Male Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris In Simpson Bay Prince William Sound Alaska written by Shannon Elizabeth Finerty and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010 with Sea otter categories.
This project describes a portion of a long-term study of the behavioral ecology of sea otters. Sub-studies of this project include the development of an individual recognition program for sea otters, the construction of male sea otter activity and energy budgets, and the assessment of male sea otter territory quality. The Sea Otter Nose Matching Program, or "SONMaP", was developed to identify individual sea otters in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, using a blotch-pattern recognition algorithm based on the shape and location of nose scars. The performance of the SONMaP program was tested using images of otters collected during the 2002-03 field seasons, and previously matched by visually comparing every image in a catalog of 1,638 animals. In 48.9% of the visually matched images, the program accurately selected the correct image in the first 10% of the catalog. Individual follows and instantaneous sampling were used during the summers of 2004-06, to observe male sea otter behavior. Six behaviors (foraging, grooming, interacting with other otters, patrolling, resting, and surface swimming) were observed during four time periods (dawn, day, dusk, night) to create 24-hr activity budgets. Male sea otters spent 27% of their time resting, 26% swimming, 19% grooming, 14% foraging, 9% patrolling and 5% interacting with other otters. Field Metabolic Rate (FMR) was estimated by combining the energetic costs for foraging, grooming, resting, and swimming behaviors of captive otters from Yeates et al. (2007) with these activity budgets. "Swimming" accounted for the greatest percentage (43%) of energy expended each day followed by grooming (23%), resting (15%), feeding (13%) and other (5%). With a peak summer sea otter density of 5.6 otters km-2, the low percentage of time spent foraging indicates that Simpson Bay is below equilibrium density. Territory quality was assessed for male sea otters using four attributes: territory size, shoreline enclosure, accessibility, and number of females observed feeding in each territory. Each attribute was coded with a score of 0-2, and total quality scores ranged from 0.14-1.96 (0.9 + 0.61 SD). High quality territories had large areas, moderate shoreline enclosure, high accessibility, and many foraging females
Photo Identification Summer Activity Pattern Estimated Field Metabolic Rate And Territory Quality Of Adult Male Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris In Simpson Bay Prince William Sound Alaska
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Author : Shannon Elizabeth Finerty
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2010
Photo Identification Summer Activity Pattern Estimated Field Metabolic Rate And Territory Quality Of Adult Male Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris In Simpson Bay Prince William Sound Alaska written by Shannon Elizabeth Finerty and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010 with Sea otter categories.
This project describes a portion of a long-term study of the behavioral ecology of sea otters. Sub-studies of this project include the development of an individual recognition program for sea otters, the construction of male sea otter activity and energy budgets, and the assessment of male sea otter territory quality. The Sea Otter Nose Matching Program, or "SONMaP", was developed to identify individual sea otters in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, using a blotch-pattern recognition algorithm based on the shape and location of nose scars. The performance of the SONMaP program was tested using images of otters collected during the 2002-03 field seasons, and previously matched by visually comparing every image in a catalog of 1,638 animals. In 48.9% of the visually matched images, the program accurately selected the correct image in the first 10% of the catalog. Individual follows and instantaneous sampling were used during the summers of 2004-06, to observe male sea otter behavior. Six behaviors (foraging, grooming, interacting with other otters, patrolling, resting, and surface swimming) were observed during four time periods (dawn, day, dusk, night) to create 24-hr activity budgets. Male sea otters spent 27% of their time resting, 26% swimming, 19% grooming, 14% foraging, 9% patrolling and 5% interacting with other otters. Field Metabolic Rate (FMR) was estimated by combining the energetic costs for foraging, grooming, resting, and swimming behaviors of captive otters from Yeates et al. (2007) with these activity budgets. "Swimming" accounted for the greatest percentage (43%) of energy expended each day followed by grooming (23%), resting (15%), feeding (13%) and other (5%). With a peak summer sea otter density of 5.6 otters km-2, the low percentage of time spent foraging indicates that Simpson Bay is below equilibrium density. Territory quality was assessed for male sea otters using four attributes: territory size, shoreline enclosure, accessibility, and number of females observed feeding in each territory. Each attribute was coded with a score of 0-2, and total quality scores ranged from 0.14-1.96 (0.9 + 0.61 SD). High quality territories had large areas, moderate shoreline enclosure, high accessibility, and many foraging females.
Diet Composition And Fate Of Contaminants In Subsistence Harvested Northern Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris Kenyoni From Icy Strait Alaska
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Author : Kristin Lynn Brown
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2020
Diet Composition And Fate Of Contaminants In Subsistence Harvested Northern Sea Otters Enhydra Lutris Kenyoni From Icy Strait Alaska written by Kristin Lynn Brown and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020 with Sea otter categories.
Northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Southeast Alaska have experienced a significant population increase since their successful reintroduction to the area after previous near extirpation owing to historic fur trading. The purpose of this study was to examine sea otter diet and metals contamination in an area of Southeast Alaska with the most robust increases in sea otter numbers, Glacier Bay/Icy Strait, with the intent of gathering baseline data for a healthy population of sea otters and as a reflection of the local coastal environmental health of the area. This research was a collaborative effort with Alaska Native subsistence hunters and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. In Chapter 1, sea otter stomachs (n=25) were obtained in April 2015 and April 2016 from Alaska Native subsistence hunters in Icy Strait, Alaska. There were no differences in sea otter diet between years. Bivalves dominated the sea otter diet. Northern horsemussels (Modiolus modiolus) made up the greatest proportion of the diet (0.46 ± 0.48). Fat gaper clams (Tresus capax) and northern horsemussels were found in the highest proportion of stomachs (0.64 and 0.60, respectively). There was not an apparent trend between sea otter age and the minimum number of total prey items, stomach contents mass, or mean frequency of occurrence of the top four prey species. Sea otters from this study are likely to be dietary generalists throughout their lives. In Chapter 2, brain, gonad, kidney, and liver tissues, as well as stomach contents were analyzed for arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, total mercury, and selenium for the 2015-harvested sea otters that were also referenced in Chapter 1 (n=14). In general, arsenic and lead had the highest concentrations in stomach contents, cadmium and selenium were highest in the kidneys, and copper and total mercury were highest in the livers. While brains and gonads had the lowest metals concentrations of any tissue, the metal with the greatest concentration within the brain was copper, and within the gonads was selenium. Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, total mercury, and lead demonstrated a relationship with sea otter length. In general, all the mean metals concentrations for these sea otters were below published effects threshold values for marine mammals. Only total mercury demonstrated biomagnification from the stomach contents (i.e., the prey) to all higher-level tissues. Selenium health benefit values were positive in all sea otter tissue types analyzed in the present study, indicating that concentrations of selenium had an overall health benefit in protecting those tissues against mercury toxicity. Evaluating how contaminants concentrate and get distributed in tissues of top trophic levels provides an indication for potential exposure to humans and demonstrates how these keystone species act as indicators of local coastal ecosystem health. The results of studies on dietary exposure and metals contamination in top trophic level consumers such as sea otters can be used in monitoring the health of sea otter populations and the local environment that they inhabit.