Influence of occupation history and habitat on Washington sea otter diet

Habitat characteristics are primary determinants of nearshore marine communities. However, biological drivers like predation can also be important for community composition. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris ssp.) are a salient example of a keystone species exerting top‐down control on ecosystem community...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine mammal science 2019-10, Vol.35 (4), p.1369-1395
Main Authors: Hale, Jessica R., Laidre, Kristin L., Tinker, M. Tim, Jameson, Ronald J., Jeffries, Steven J., Larson, Shawn E., Bodkin, James L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic mammals
Communities
Community composition
Community structure
Composition
cumulative density gradient
Density
Diet
diet composition
diet diversity
energy intake
Enhydra lutris
Enhydra lutris kenyoni
Foraging
Foraging habitats
habitat
Habitat selection
Habitats
Interspecific relationships
Keystone species
Marine biology
Marine mammals
occupation history
Occupations
Otters
Population growth
Population status
Predation
Range extension
sea otter
Translocation
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Summary:Habitat characteristics are primary determinants of nearshore marine communities. However, biological drivers like predation can also be important for community composition. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris ssp.) are a salient example of a keystone species exerting top‐down control on ecosystem community structure. The translocation and subsequent population growth and range expansion of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Washington State over the last five decades has created a spatio‐temporal gradient in sea otter occupation time and density, and acts as a natural experiment to quantify how sea otter population status and habitat type influence sea otter diet. We collected focal observations of sea otters foraging at sites across the gradient in varying habitat types between 2010 and 2017. We quantified sea otter diet composition and diversity, and long‐term rates of energy gain across the gradient. We found that sea otter diet diversity was positively correlated with cumulative sea otter density, while rate of energy gain was negatively correlated with cumulative density. Additionally, we found that habitat type explained 1.77 times more variance in sea otter diet composition than sea otter cumulative density. Long‐term diet studies can provide a broader picture of sea otter population status in Washington State.
ISSN:0824-0469
1748-7692
DOI:10.1111/mms.12598