Ana Velasquez presents 'Short-term Effects of Tag Implantation in Sea Otters', Oct. 28
by Green & Gold News |
Ana Velasquez, a MS candidate in biology, will defend the thesis 'Short-term Effects of Tag Implantation in Sea Otters' on Oct. 28.
Abstract
Within marine ecology, animal-borne biotelemetry has provided valuable insights into the often remote and cryptic lives of marine vertebrates. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris), a keystone and sentinel species for nearshore ecosystems, have been studied extensively using biotelemetry to examine their dive behavior, foraging strategies, activity patterns, and energetic trade-offs. However, unlike other marine mammals, which are insulated by blubber and large enough to carry external tags, sea otters are relatively small and completely reliant on fur for insulation, requiring most tags to be implanted surgically. Although best practices ave been followed, there is limited understanding on the short and long-term impacts of internal tagging. This study leverages archival data from Northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) captured in Prince William Sound, 熊猫在线视频, USA, to retrospectively assess the short-term (鈮� 3 months) effects of intra-abdominal tags on body temperature (Tb) and dive behavior. A series of behavioral metrics were extracted from the dive record along with Tb and a breakpoint analysis was used to identify the timeline for the return to baseline post-implantation. Linear mixed effect models were used to determine if recovery to baseline was influenced by covariates such as reproductive status, implant location, and interaction between reproductive status and time post-implant. All sea otters experienced a significant breakpoint whereby their Tb increased significantly (螖=0.46掳C) following tag implantation indicating a period of elevated temperature linked with immune response following surgery. The return to baseline occurred at 14.61 卤 5.19 days and 17.96 卤 1.9 days post-implantation for Tb and behavior respectively. Sea otters experienced reduced foraging effort directly following tag implementation indicated by daily reductions in foraging dives and bouts, less time diving, shorter foraging bouts, and greater time between foraging bouts pre-breakpoint. These trends were consistent for both non-reproductive and reproductive individuals. These results indicate that sea otters do experience short term inflammation and behavioral responses following internal tag implant but are able to return to baseline.
Event details
Zoom Meeting ID: 897 3054 2705
Event location - LIB 307 and Zoom
Event date - Oct. 28, 2025
Event start time - 1 p.m.
Event end time - 2 p.m.