Otters reveal their identity( This release is available in A HREF...)

This release is available in German.

Leipzig. Researchers of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research have developed two new methods, in order to be able to better estimate the numbers of European Otters (Lutra lutra) and their effects on the fish farming industry. The researchers succeeded for the first time in gathering more accurate data on the otter population in the heath and pond region of the Oberlausitz Biosphere Reserve. Genetic analyses of the faeces could prove to be a promising approach when investigating otter populations, as researchers have written in the scientific journal Conservation Genetics. The new method does not only apply to otters, but also to all vertebrates.

The information can be used to ensure effective nature conservation. Accurate information on the size of the otter population makes it possible to calculate the quantity of fish eaten per pond and hence the damage incurred to the local fish farming industry. Consequently, appropriate damage compensation would improve the acceptance of otters among the local fish farming industry and thus the protection of this endangered species, as is required by national and international law. For population size estimates, the classical method of MRR (Mark Release Recapture) is enhanced by modern DNA analyses.

The frequency with which an otter visits and hunts in a body of water can be assessed more accurately if the age of the faeces are also taken into account. This second new approach improves considerably the accuracy of otter visiting rates to ponds in many situations and is not limited to the faeces alone, but can also be applied to other kinds of animal traces (i.e. feeding traces, tracks and traces from activity) according to the international researcher team in the scientific journal Journal of Applied Ecology.

Striking around at dawn: eroded fish rema
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