IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
© IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 26 Issue 1 pages 1 - 62 (April 2009)

Abstracts

Eurasian Otters in Micro Dams of Southern Bulgaria: Where to Place the Monitoring Zones?
Pages 5 - 9 (Report)
Dilian Georgiev
Ten micro dam sites were studied in Southern Bulgaria between 2005 and 2007. They were situated below 700 metres above sea level in the Upper Thracian Valley and the Sredna Gora mountain. All the bank perimeters, totaling 24.72 kilometres, were walked searching for otter spraint sites. Most of them were found in the area around the river inflow (n=53, 40.5%) followed by those near the wall of the dam (n=39, 29.8%). The other spraint sites were found in the two other zones of equal length in the middle part of the basins. The average levels of preference index showed the highest levels in the river inlet and dam wall zones. They were highest at the river inflow end, 1.6 (min-max=0.7–4.0) and a little lower near the wall, 1.2 (min-max=0.0–3.0). The middle zones of the basin were not so preferentially selected as spraint sites by otters, having index values about three times lower. We recommend otter monitoring at such basins to be focused on the areas close to the main river filling them.
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Monitoring Peripheral Populations Of The Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) In Southern Italy: New Occurrences In The Sila National Park
Pages 10 - 14 (Report)
Manlio Marcelli and Romina Fusillo
After a period of strong decline, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) has re-expanded its area of distribution in Italy from 1984 to 2004, mainly toward the southern periphery of its range. The Sila National Park is located in a strategic position along a drainage divide separating southern peripheral otter populations from unoccupied but potentially recolonizable habitats. A research project aimed to evaluate the aquatic habitats of the Sila National Park for otter recolonization is now in progress. At present, we have surveyed 14 sampling sites to detect otter presence in the study area. Two positive sites were found on the Arvo river. These records represent the first evidence of otter presence in the Sila area after extinction apparently occurred in the late 1970s. One of the two positive sites was negative in the 2003. These data seem to indicate that otter recolonization in the southern periphery of Italian distribution range is still in progress. Management actions in the Sila National Park may favour recolonization processes.
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A Survey of Smooth Coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata sindica) in the Sindh Province of Pakistan
Pages 15 - 31 (Report)
Waseem Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Qasim, Ejaz Ahmad, Ghulam Akbar, Ali Hassan Habib, Hassan Ali, Faisal Mueen, Abdul Aleem Chaudhry, Shahid Iqbal, Hussain Bux Bhaagat, Mohammad Akhtar and Mohammad Shafiq Ahmad
The present report reveals the findings of surveys conducted jointly by Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD), Government of Sindh and WWF Pakistan, Islamabad (WWF-P) during November-December, 2008 and February 2009 with the objectives to confirm the existence of Smooth coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillita sindica) in different areas in Sindh and to identify various threats to otter population. An area of about 5,000 km was traversed covering 36 different sites in 12 districts of Sindh province where there were reports of otter existence. The existence of otter was confirmed at 25 sites in 11 districts. Evidence like recent otter tracks, remains of fish eaten by otter, otter spraints, and holts was gathered and local residents and fishermen were interviewed to verify the existence of otter at every site. Five sites located in four different districts were identified where an otter population exists throughout the year, whereas otters visited all the other sites occasionally over different seasons, in search of food. Various threats to the species identified during the surveys included hunting for fur, habitat degradation, water pollution, weak enforcement of wildlife laws, increasing tourism and competition and conflicts between otters and fishermen. The total population of Smooth coated otter was also estimated over the 25 sites as 178.
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Review on Research and Conservation of Otters in Nepal
Pages 32 - 43 (Report)
Gandhiv Kafle
Three species of otters, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), the Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and the Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea) have been recorded in Nepal. Baseline information on otters is not available for the majority of wetland sites within the country. Freshwater ecosystems, the preferred habitat for otters, are adversely affected by both human and natural causes. This paper provides an overview of research on otters in Nepal to date, the key findings and the ways forward.
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Using Sightings for Estimating Population Density of Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra): a Preliminary Approach with Rowcliffe et al's Model
Pages 50 - 59 (Article)
Pablo García, Valentín Arévalo and Isabel Mateos
Because of the crucial importance for otter ecology and conservation, estimating population size (or standardizing it in density) is one of the major fields of research. However, the behaviour of the species makes estimates complicated. The vast majority of methods rely on the study of signs (mainly spraints, but also tracks), but this is insufficient for density measurements, or too costly. Other techniques with proven results use visual counts of otters, but they also have some faults and involve a disproportionate sampling effort. The encounter-based method of population estimation, proposed by Rowcliffe et al. (2008), has been applied to otter sightings in two sites of different habitat with known otter density, and under different survey designs. This provisional check appears to confirm that the method results in adequate population estimates, also when employing samples at random intervals of time and space. Moreover, it involves lower effort, and the census can be tackled by a reduced number of researchers. It is strongly suggested that this methodology be widely tested, to ascertain its performance under different sampling and environmental conditions.
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