Genetic Diversity and Population Parameters of Sea Otters, Enhydra lutris, before Fur Trade Extirpation from 1741–1911

Larson, Shawn; Jameson, R.; Etnier, Michael A.; Jones, Terry L.; Hall, Roberta L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032205

Cited by 34 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Larson et al . ). Similarly, identifying adaptive genetic diversity remains challenging in nonmodel organisms and even inaccessible for many of the endangered species we study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Navigating the pitfalls and promise of landscape genetics

et al. 2016

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The field of landscape genetics has been evolving rapidly since its emergence in the early 2000s. New applications, techniques and criticisms of techniques appear like clockwork with each new journal issue. The developments are an encouraging, and at times bewildering, sign of progress in an exciting new field of study. However, we suggest that the rapid expansion of landscape genetics has belied important flaws in the development of the field, and we add an air of caution to this breakneck pace of expansion. Specifically, landscape genetic studies often lose sight of the fundamental principles and complex consequences of gene flow, instead favouring simplistic interpretations and broad inferences not necessarily warranted by the data. Here, we describe common pitfalls that characterize such studies, and provide practical guidance to improve landscape genetic investigation, with careful consideration of inferential limits, scale, replication, and the ecological and evolutionary context of spatial genetic patterns. Ultimately, the utility of landscape genetics will depend on translating the relationship between gene flow and landscape features into an understanding of long‐term population outcomes. We hope the perspective presented here will steer landscape genetics down a more scientifically sound and productive path, garnering a field that is as informative in the future as it is popular now.

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“…Larson et al . ). Similarly, identifying adaptive genetic diversity remains challenging in nonmodel organisms and even inaccessible for many of the endangered species we study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Navigating the pitfalls and promise of landscape genetics

et al. 2016

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“…For species which have high site fidelity and small home ranges, localized disturbances can have outsized effects possibly leading to genetic bottlenecking, as seen in sea otters (Larson et al. , ) and wolves (Moura et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location‐specific factors influence patterns and effects of subsistence sea otter harvest in Southeast Alaska

et al. 2019

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To better understand the spatial context of population dynamics of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in Southeast Alaska (SEAK), we investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of subsistence sea otter harvest and assessed the effect of harvest on population growth. U.S. federal law permits subsistence harvest of sea otters and sale of clothing and handicrafts made by coastal Alaska Natives. Hunters are required to self‐report these harvests along with information on date, location, age class, and sex. Using harvest data collected from 1988 to 2015, we developed a spatially explicit, age‐structured, density‐dependent population simulation model to explore the potential impacts of harvest on sea otter population dynamics. We examined patterns of harvest and simulation model results at two spatial scales: the SEAK stock and three smaller subregions that vary in sea otter occupation time and carrying capacity: Sitka Sound, Keku Strait, and the Maurelle Islands. Annual sea otter harvest in SEAK increased from 55 animals in 1988 to a reported maximum of 1449 animals in 2013. Estimated mean annual harvest rate was 2.8% at the SEAK stock scale, but ranged from 0% to 39.3% across the three focal subregions described above. Across all subregions (n = 55), annual sea otter harvest rate was strongly influenced by time since recolonization, sea otter population density, and proximity to communities with sea otter hunters. The simulation model predicted population trends and per capita harvest rates similar to those estimated from aerial survey data, providing a reasonable approximation of population dynamics. Results of the simulation model suggested that current harvest levels can reduce population size at both the SEAK and subregional scales. Variation in harvest impacts was a function of subregion‐specific factors, including time since recolonization and population status with respect to carrying capacity. We found that subsistence harvest and its population effects were scale‐ and location‐dependent, indicating that higher spatial and temporal resolution of sea otter population and hunting data could help address emerging sea otter management and conservation concerns in this region.

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“…Authors have also argued that generations of inbreeding of the cheetah has created a genetic bottleneck, resulting in the lack of genetic diversity in this species, resulting in a population that, when subjected to captivity, expresses increased susceptibility to gastric H. acinonychis (O'Brien et al 1987, Munson et al 2005. A similar circumstance could be playing a role in the sea otter, which suffered at least one historic population bottleneck due to hunting of these mammals for fur in the 18 th and 19 th century (Larson et al 2012). Indeed, of the sea otter populations along the Pacific coast, California sea otters have the lowest genetic diversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sea otter populations have suffered dramatically due to extirpation associated with hunting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (1741 to 1911) until they were protected under the International Seal Treaty (Larson et al 2012). The southern sea otter Enhydra lutris nereis, listed as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, has declined in numbers in the 1970s through the mid-late 1990s, and their population continues to be suboptimal despite having been legally protected for >100 yr.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%