Two Northern Sea Otters groom themselves on a sunny day at the Homer Harbor.
One way the Bishop Lab studies sea otters is with Life History Tags (LHX), an internally placed telemetric tag which monitors body temperature throughout an otter’s lifetime and signals when the individual dies. To date, Bishop Lab collaborator Wildlife Technology Frontiers has tagged twenty sea otters with these LHX tags in Kachemak Bay. These tags were recently developed and may offer exciting insights into threatened otter populations such as those in the Aleutian Islands, which are incredibly difficult to monitor through observation.
Bishop Lab Master’s student, Ana Velasquez, is currently working on understanding the short-term impacts that these internal devices may have on sea otter health and behavior. To accomplish this, the temperature records from the tags will be examined for spikes in body temperature indicating fever, a common indicator of infection. Additionally, data from tags of similar size that monitor dive depth (Temperature Depth Records, TDR) will be analyzed to determine if sea otter activity changes over time following the tag implementation. The results of this study will help future researchers take the necessary precautions to ensure the best outcomes for sea otter individuals and to ensure that the data collected is not skewed by the impacts of the surgical procedure.Â
Graduate student Ana Velasquez presents scientific poster on the effects of internal tag implantation in sea otters at the Kachemak Bay Science Conference
The Bishop Lab strongly believes that science is best when it is shared, so when the opportunity to present at the Kachemak Bay Science Conference was presented to Ana she eagerly accepted. The conference drew in a diverse crowd of scientists and science enthusiasts from the community. Through the conference, there were opportunities to chat with researchers at NOAA’s Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, UAA affiliates at the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, volunteers from nonprofits COASST and the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies as well as other representatives from local and federal environmental agencies. Although it was great connecting with fellow scientists, one of the biggest highlights was talking to local fishermen who frequently see otters in Kachemak Bay and were really excited about the project. As the project develops, the Bishop Lab hopes to continue to present research to the public through conferences and outreach events such as this one.
Not only is this a great opportunity to get community members to weigh in on the project, but it also offers hard working graduate students a nice scientific getaway few can deny!
Written by: Ana Velasquez