Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) foraging habitat use in a heterogeneous environment in Kachemak Bay off Alaska

Bulletin of Marine Science

Volumn 90, Issue 4, 2014, Pages 921-939

  Stewart, Nathan ^a,b   Konar, Brenda ^a   Doroff, Angela ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS   (United States)

^b USA   (United States)

^c Kachemak Bay Research Reserve   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS; FEEDING GROUND; FORAGING BEHAVIOR; HABITAT SELECTION; HABITAT USE; HETEROGENEITY; MUSTELID; PREY AVAILABILITY; REMOTE SENSING;

ALASKA; KACHEMAK BAY; UNITED STATES;

ENHYDRA; ENHYDRA LUTRIS;

EID: 84910091770     PISSN: 00074977     EISSN: 15536955     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5343/bms.2014.1002     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Aarts G, MacKenzie M, McConnell B, Fedak M, Matthiopoulos J. 2008. Estimating space-use and habitat preference from wildlife telemetry data. Ecography. 31:140-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0906-7590.05236.x
2. Agler BA, Kendall SJ, Seiser PE, Irons DB. 1995. Estimates of marine bird and sea otter abundance in Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska during summer 1993, and winter 1994. Minerals Management Service Technical Report: MMS 94-0063. 124 p.
3. Ban S, Trites AW. 2007. Quantification of terrestrial haul-out and rookery characteristics of steller sea lions. Mar Mammal Sci. 23:496-507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00130.x
4. Beck MW. 2000. Separating the elements of habitat structure: independent effects of habitat complexity and structural components on rocky intertidal gastropods. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 249:29-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0981(00)00171-4
5. Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR, editors. 1991. Habitat structure: the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman and Hall, London, UK. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3076-9
6. Blundon JA, Kennedy VS. 1982. Refuges for infaunal bivalves from blue crab, Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun), predation in Chesapeake Bay. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 56:67-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(82)90176-9
7. Bodkin J, Esslinger GG, Monson DH. 2004. Foraging depths of sea otters and implications to coastal marine communities. Mar Mammal Sci. 20:305-321. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2004.tb01159.x
8. Bodkin J, Esslinger GG, Monson DH. 2007. Activity budgets derived from time-depth recorders in a diving mammal. J Wild Manage. 71:2034-2044. http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2006-258
9. Bodkin JL, Udevitz MS. 1999. An aerial survey method to estimate sea otter abundance. In: Garner GW, Amstrup SC, Laake JL, Manly BFJ, McDonald LL, Robertson DG, editors. Marine mammal survey and assessment methods. AA Balkema Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands. p. 13-26.
10. Boulding EG. 1984. Crab-resistant features of shells of burrowing bivalves: decreasing vulnerability by increasing handling time. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 76:201-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(84)90189-8
11. Bourget E, Deguise J, Daigle G. 1994. Scales of substratum heterogeneity, structural complexity, and the early establishment of a marine epibenthic community. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 181:31-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-0981(94)90102-3
12. Charnov EL. 1976. Optimal foraging: the marginal value theorem. Theor Popul Biol. 9:129-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0040-5809(76)90040-X
13. Clarke KR, Gorley RN. 2006. PRIMER v6: user manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E, Plymouth, UK, 1-192.
14. Corbett LK, Newsome AE. 1987. The feeding ecology of the dingo III. Dietary relationships with widely fluctuating prey populations in arid Australia: an hypothesis of alternation of predation. Oecologia. 74:215-217. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00379362
15. Creighton JC, Heflin ND, Belk MC. 2009. Cost of reproduction, resource quality, and terminal investment in a burying beetle. Am Nat. 174:673-684. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/605963
16. Crowley PH. 1978. Effective size and the persistence of ecosystems. Oecologia. 35:185-195. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00344731
17. Cunningham PN, Hughes RN. 1984. Learning of predatory skills by shorecrabs Carcinus maenas feeding on mussels and dogwhelks. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 16:21-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps016021
18. Daly B, Konar B. 2008. Effects of macroalgal structural complexity on nearshore larval and post-larval crab composition. Mar Biol. 153:1055-1064. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0878-7
19. Daly B, Konar B. 2010. Temporal trends of two spider crabs (Brachyura, Majoidea) in nearshore kelp habitats in Alaska, USA. Crustaceana. 83:659-669
20. Doroff AM, DeGange AR. 1994. Sea otter prey composition and foraging success in the northern Kodiak Archipelago. Fish Bull. 92:704-710
21. Doroff AM, Badajos O, Corbell K, Jenski D, Beaver M. 2012. Assessment of sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) diet in Kachemak Bay, Alaska (2008-2010). IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin 29(1).
22. Doroff AM, Badajos O. 2010. Sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) survival and movement patterns in Kachemak Bay, Alaska 2007-2010. Final report to US Fish and Wildlife Service Marine Mammals Management 1011 E Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503. 63 p.
23. Estes JA. 1990. Growth and equilibrium in sea otter populations. J Anim Ecol. 59:385-401. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4870
24. Estes JA, Peterson CH, Steneck R. 2010. Some effects of apex predators in higher-latitude coastal oceans. In: Estes TJ, Estes J, editors. Trophic cascades: predators, prey, and the changing dynamics of nature. Island Press, Washington, DC. Pages 37-53
25. Estes JA, Riedman M. 1990. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris): Behavior, ecology, and natural history. Washington, DC: US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 90(14). 126 p.
26. Estes JA, Smith NS, Palmisano JF. 1978. Sea otter predation and community organization in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Ecology. 59:822-833. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938786
27. Estes JA, Jameson RJ, Johnson AM. 1981. Food selection and some foraging tactics of sea otters. In: Chapman J, Pursley D, editors. Worldwide furbearer conference proceedings, Vol. 1. University of Maryland Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. p. 606-641.
28. Estes JA, Palmisano JF. 1974. Sea otters: their role in structuring nearshore communities. Science. 185:1058. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4156.1058
29. Estes JA, Riedman ML, Staedler MM, Tinker MT, Lyon BE. 2003. Individual variation in prey selection by sea otters: patterns, causes and implications. J Anim Ecol. 72:144-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2656.2003.00690.x
30. Fanshawe S, VanBlaricom GR, Shelly AA. 2003. Restored top carnivores as detriments to the performance of marine protected areas intended for fishery sustainability: a case study with red abalones and sea otters. Conserv Biol. 17:273-283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.00432.x
31. Forester JD, Im HK, Rathouz PJ. 2009. Accounting for animal movement in estimation of resource selection functions: sampling and data analysis. Ecology. 90:3554-3565. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/08-0874.1
32. Foster MS. 1990. Organization of macroalgal assemblages in the northeast Pacific: the assumption of homogeneity and the illusion of generality. Hydrobiologia. 192:21-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00006225
33. Fukuyama AK. 2000. The ecology of bivalve communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska: influence of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and predation by sea otters. PhD thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. 318 p.
34. Garshelis DL. 1983. Ecology of sea otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska. PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 321 p.
35. Garshelis DL, Garshelis JA, Kimper AT. 1986. Sea otter time budgets and prey relationships in Alaska. J Wildlife Manage 50:637-647. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3800974
36. Gilkinson AK, Finerty SE, Weltz F, Dellapenna TM, Davis RW. 2011. Habitat associations of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in a soft- and mixed-sediment benthos in Alaska. J Mamm. 92:1278-1286. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/10-MAMM-A-379.1
37. Gill VA, Doroff AM, Burn D. 2009. Aerial surveys of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. 2008. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management 1011 E Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503. Final Report to Army Corps of Engineers, MIPR # WC1JUW80880784. 24 p.
38. Hamilton J, Konar B. 2007. Implications of substrate complexity and kelp variability for southcentral Alaskan nearshore fish communities. Fish B-NOAA. 105:189-196.
39. Hines AH, Comtois K. 1985. Vertical distribution of estuarine infauna in sediments of central Chesapeake Bay. Estuaries. 8:251-261. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1351490
40. Hines AH, Pearse JS. 1982. Abalones, shells and sea otters: dynamics of prey populations in central California. Ecology. 63:1547-1560. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938879
41. Hochman V, Kotler PB. 2006. Effects of food quality, diet preference and water on patch use by Nubian ibex. Oikos. 112:547-554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2006.14214.x
42. Johnson DH. 1980. The comparison of usage and availability measurements for evaluating resource preference. Ecology. 61:65-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1937156
43. Jolly JM. 1997. Foraging ecology of sea otter, Enhydra lutris, in a soft sediment community. University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA.
44. Kvitek RG, Shull D, Canestro D, Bowlby EC, Troutman BL. 1989. Sea otters and benthic prey communities in Washington State. Mar Mammal Sci. 5:266-280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1989.tb00340.x
45. Kvitek RG, Bowlby EC, Staedler M. 1993. Diet and foraging behavior of sea otters in southeast Alaska. Mar Mammal Sci. 9:168-181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1993.tb00441.x
46. Kvitek RG, Fukayama AK, Anderson BS, Grimm BK. 1988. Sea otters foraging on deep-burrowing bivalves in a California coastal lagoon. Mar Biol. 98:157-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00391191
47. Kvitek RG, Oliver JS. 1988. Sea otter foraging habits and effects on prey populations and communities in soft-bottom environments. In: VanBlaricom GR, Estes JA, editors. The community ecology of sea otters. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany. p. 22-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72845-7-3
48. Kvitek RG, Oliver JS. 1992. Influence of sea otters on soft-bottom prey communities in southeast Alaska. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 82:103-113. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps082103
49. Kvitek RG, Oliver JS, DeGange AR, Anderson BS. 1992. Changes in Alaskan soft-bottom prey communities along a gradient in sea otter predation. Ecology. 73:413-428. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940749
50. Laidre KL, Jameson RJ. 2006. Foraging patterns and prey selection in an increasing and expanding sea otter population. J Mammal. 87:799-807. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-244R2.1
51. Lipcius RN, Hines AH. 1986. Variable functional responses of a marine predator in dissimilar homogeneous microhabitats. Ecology. 67:1361-1371. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1938692
52. Long WC, Popp J, Swiney KM, VanSant SB. 2012. Cannibalism in red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815): effects of habitat type and predator density on predator functional response. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 422-423:101-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2012.04.019
53. Manly BFJ, McDonald LL, Thomas D, McDonald TL, Erickson WP. 2002. Resource selection by animals: statistical design and analysis for field studies. Second edition. Kluwer Academic, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
54. McCormick MI. 1994. Comparisons of field methods for measuring surface-topography and their associations with a tropical reef fish assemblage. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 112:87-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps112087
55. Menge BA, Lubchenco J. 1981. Community organization in temperate and tropical rocky intertidal habitats: prey refuges in relation to consumer pressure gradients. Ecol Monogr. 51:429-450. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2937323
56. Micheli F. 1992. Effects of predator foraging behavior on patterns of prey mortality in marine soft bottoms. Ecol Monogr. 67:203-224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(1997)067[0203:EOPFBO]2.0.CO;2
57. Miller DJ, Hardwick JE, Dahlstrom WA. 1975. Pismo clams and sea otters. California Department of Fish and Game.
58. Oftedal OT, Ralls K, Tinker MT, Green A. 2007. Nutritional constraints on the southern sea otter in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and a comparison to sea otter populations at San Nicholas Island, California and Glacier Bay, Alaska. Joint Final Report to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Monterey Bay, California, USA.
59. Orensanz JM, Hand CM, Parma AM, Valero J, Hilborn R. 2004. Precaution in the harvest of Methuselah's clams: the difficulty of getting timely feedback from slow-paced dynamics. Can J Fish Aquat Sci. 61:1355-1372. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f04-136
60. Ostfeld RS. 1982. Foraging strategies and prey switching in the California sea otter. Oecologia. 53:170-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00545660
61. Peterson CH, Andre SV. 1980. An experimental analysis of interspecific competition among marine filter feeders in a soft-sediment environment. Ecology. 61:129-139. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1937163
62. Porter WF, Church KE. 1987. Effects of environmental pattern on habitat preference analysis. J Wildlife Manage. 51:681-685. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3801289
63. Pyke GH. 1984. Optimal foraging theory: a critical review. Annu Rev Ecol Syst. 15:523-575. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.15.110184.002515
64. Raffaelli DG, Hughes RN. 1978. The effects of crevice size and availability on populations of Littorina (Littorina neritoides). J Anim Ecol. 47:71-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3923
65. Reidy RD, Cox SP. 2013. Geoduck clam (Panopea abrupta) demographics and mortality rates in the presence of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and commercial harvesting. Open Fish Sci J. 6:28-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874401X01306010028
66. Rosenthal RJ, Barilotti DC. 1973. Feeding behavior of transplanted sea otters and community interactions off Chicago Island, southeast Alaska. In: North WJ, editor. California Institute of Technology, Kelp habitat improvement project. Annual Report 1972-1973. p. 74-88.
67. Rosenzweig M. 1981. A theory of habitat selection. Ecology. 62:327-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1936707
68. Schiel DR, Foster MS. 1986. The structure of subtidal algal stands in temperate waters. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annual Rev. 24:265-307.
69. Schneider KB. 1976. Assessment of the distribution and abundance of sea otters along the Kenai Peninsula, Kamishak Bay, and the Kodiak Peninsula. Final Report for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, AK. 72 p.
70. Sebens KP. 1991. Habitat structure and community dynamics in marine benthic systems. In: Bell SS, McCoy ED, Mushinsky HR, editors. Habitat structure - the physical arrangement of objects in space. Chapman & Hall, London, UK. p. 211-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3076-9-11
71. Singh GG, Markel RW, Martone RG, Salomon AK, Harley CDG, Chan KMA. 2013. Sea otters homogenize mussel beds and reduce habitat provisioning in a rocky intertidal ecosystem. PLOS One. 8(5):e65435. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065435
72. Skilleter GA. 1994. Refuges from predation and the persistence of estuarine clam populations. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 109:29-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps109029
73. Smith FE. 1972. Spatial heterogeneity, stability and diversity in ecosystems. T Conn Acad Arts Sci. 44:309-335.
74. Sponaugle S, Lawton P. 1990. Portunid crab predation on juvenile hard clams: effects of substrate type and prey density. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 67:43-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/ meps067043
75. Steneck RS, Graham MH, Bourque BJ, Corbett D, Erlandson JM, Estes JA, Tegner MJ. 2002. Kelp forest ecosystems: biodiversity, stability, resilience and future. Environ Conserv. 29:436-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0376892902000322
76. Stephens DW, Krebs JR. 1986. Foraging theory. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
77. Suryan RM, Harvey JT. 1998. Tracking harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) to determine dive behavior, foraging activity, and haul-out site use. Mar Mammal Sci. 14:361-372. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1998.tb00728.x
78. Thomas DL, Taylor EJ. 2006. Study designs and tests for comparing resource use and availability II. J Wildlife Manage. 70:324-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/0022-541X(2006)70[3 24:SDATFC]2.0.CO;2
79. Thompson ID, Colgan PW. 1990. Prey choice by marten during a decline in prey abundance. Oecologia. 83:443-451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00317193
80. Tinker MT, Bentall G, Estes JA. 2008. Food limitation leads to behavioral diversification and dietary specialization in sea otters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 105:560-565. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0709263105
81. Tinker MT, Guimarães Jr PR, Novak M, Marquitti FMD, Bodkin JL, Staedler M, Bentall G, Estes JA. 2012. Structure and mechanism of diet specialization: testing models of individual variation in resource use with sea otters. Ecol Lett. 15:475-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01760.x
82. VanBlaricom GR. 1988. Effects of foraging by sea otters on mussel-dominated intertidal communities. In: VanBlaricom GR, Estes JA, editors. The community ecology of sea otters. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. p. 48-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72845-7-4
83. Weitzman BP. 2013. Effects of sea otter colonization on soft-sediment intertidal prey assemblages in Glacier Bay, Alaska. MS thesis, University of California Santa Cruz. p. 1-78.
84. Wolt RC, Gelwick FP, Weltz F, Davis RW. 2012. Foraging behavior and prey of sea otters in a soft- and mixed-sediment benthos in Alaska. Mamm Biol. 77:271-280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2012.03.002
85. Won NI, Kawamura T, Takami H, Watanabe Y. 2013. Trophic structure in natural habitats of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai with distinct algal vegetation of kelp and crustose coralline algae: implication of ontogenetic niche shifts. Fish Sci. 79:87-97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12562-012-0578-1