Article

Nadezhda A. Sokolova, Junior Researcher in the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, 119071, Moscow, Leninsky Prospect, 33); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3086-5825; e-mail: nadezhdasklva@gmail.com
Elena M. Litvinova, PhD, Assistant in the Faculty of Biology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (119234, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie gory, 1, building 12); Senior Researcher in Kaluzhskie Zaseki State Nature Reserve (Russia, 249750, Kaluga Region, Ul'yanovo, Bol'shaya Sovetskaya Street, 75); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8373-1604; e-mail: canis_litvinova@mail.ru
Pavel A. Sorokin, PhD, Senior Researcher in the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, 119071, Moscow, Leninsky Prospect, 33); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8462-8804; e-mail: sorokin-p@yandex.ru
Jose A. Hernandez-Blanco, PhD, Senior Researcher in the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, 119071, Moscow, Leninsky Prospect, 33); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1072-2483; e-mail: j.a.hernandez.blanco@gmail.com

Sokolova N.A., Litvinova E.M., Sorokin P.A., Hernandez-Blanco J.A. 2022. How Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) use suboptimal habitats? Space use dynamics in forest streams of Central Russian Upland. Nature Conservation Research 7(2): 54–65. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2022.020

Electronic Supplement. Datasets of Lutra lutra signs and camera-trapping sites, average temperatures, river usage, success rate of mtDNA analysis (Link).

Territoriality is the regulating social system for many carnivore species. It is usually determined by resource abundance and competition. Lutra lutra (hereinafter also – Eurasian otter), a top freshwater predator, has a wide range of various types of resources, which can influence its spatial organisation and space use. It is well known for optimal habitats (mainly wide rivers and lakes). Less is known about the usage of suboptimal habitat. Thus, we focused on forest streams in the Central-Russian Upland and studied the type and dynamics of the Eurasian otter space use with field and genetic methods. During the study period (2002–2018), we showed wave-like changes in the occurrence of the Eurasian otter with a period of nine years. The access to open water is a key factor that affects the Eurasian otter distribution during the snow period, and in the snowless period the water level effects their distribution. We found constant breeding locations, two breeding periods were observed in some years. Analysis of mtDNA control region showed that Eurasian otters with various haplotypes inhabit different river systems of the study area, which could show that the home range of Eurasian otters is determined by one river system. These results show that Eurasian otters use suboptimal habitats as an additional buffer area to survive difficult environmental conditions.

control region, habitat usage, long-term monitoring, mitochondrial DNA, space use

Received: 24.01.2022. Revised: 19.03.2022. Accepted: 29.03.2022.

Areias-Guerreiro J., Mira A., Barbosa A.M. 2016. How well can models predict changes in species distributions? A 13-year-old otter model revisited. Hystrix 27(1). DOI: 10.4404/hystrix-27.1-11867
Arrendal J., Vilà C., Björklund M. 2007. Reliability of noninvasive genetic census of otters compared to field censuses. Conservation Genetics 8(5): 1097–1107. DOI:10.1007/s10592-006-9266-y
Astafiev A.A. 1984. Otter diet as reflection of anthropogenic effect on watercourses. Species and its productiveness in area. In: 4^th All-Soviet Meeting. Sverdlovsk. Vol. 2. P. 4. [In Russian]
Bonesi L., Hale M., Macdonald D.W. 2013. Lessons from the use of non-invasive genetic sampling as a way to estimate Eurasian otter population size and sex ratio. Acta Theriologica 58(2): 157–168. DOI: 10.1007/s13364-012-0118-5
Cassola F. 1986. The otter in Italy. status, distribution and conservation of an endangered species. Rome: WWF Italia. 135 p.
Cianfrani C., Le Lay G., Hirzel A.H., Loy A. 2010. Do habitat suitability models reliably predict the recovery areas of threatened species? Journal of Applied Ecology 47(2): 421–430. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01781.x
Conroy J.W.H., Chanin P.R.F. 2002. The status of the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin 19A: 24–48.
Dallas J.F., Carss D.N., Marshall F., Koepfli K.P., Kruuk H., Bacon P.J., Piertney S.B. 2000. Sex identification of the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra by PCR typing of spraints. Conservation Genetics 1(2):181–183. DOI: 10.1023/A:1026551510861
Dallas J.F., Coxon K.E., Sykes T., Chanin P.R., Marshall F., Carss D.N., Bacon P.J., Piertney S.B., Racey P.A. 2003. Similar estimates of population genetic composition and sex ratio derived from carcasses and faeces of Eurasian otter Lutra lutra. Molecular Ecology 12(1): 275–282. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2003.01712.x
Danilov P.I., Tumanov I.L. 1976. Mustelids of North-West USSR. Leningrad: Nauka. 256 p. [In Russian]
Delibes M., Calzada J., Clavero M., Fernandez N., Gutiérrez-Expósito C., Revilla E., Román J. 2012. The near threatened Eurasian otter Lutra lutra in Morocco: no sign of recovery. Oryx 46(2): 249–252. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605311001517
Erlinge S. 1968. Territoriality of the otter Lutra lutra L. Oikos 19(1): 81–98. DOI: 10.2307/3564733
Ferrando A., Lecis R., Domingo-Roura X., Ponsà M. 2008. Genetic diversity and individual identification of reintroduced otters (Lutra lutra) in north-eastern Spain by DNA genotyping of spraints. Conservation Genetics 9(1): 129–139. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-007-9315-1
Finnegan L.A., O'Néill L. 2010. Mitochondrial DNA diversity of the Irish otter, Lutra lutra, population. Conservation Genetics 11(4): 1573–1577. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-009-9955-4
Hájková P., Zemanová B., Roche K., Hájek B. 2009. An evaluation of field and noninvasive genetic methods for estimating Eurasian otter population size. Conservation Genetics 10(6): 1667–1681. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-008-9745-4
Hall T. 2005. Bioedit v. 7.0.5. Biological sequences alignment editor for Windows. Carlsbad, CA, USA: Ibis Therapeutics, a division of Isis Pharmaceuticals. Available from http://www.mbio.ncsu.edu/BioEdit/bioedit.html
Hansen M.M., Jacobsen L. 1999. Identification of mustelid species: otter (Lutra lutra), American mink (Mustela vison) and polecat (Mustela putorius), by analysis of DNA from faecal samples. Journal of Zoology 247(2): 177–181. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb00981.x
Hernandez-Blanco J.A., Litvinova E.M., Antonevich A.V. 2003. Analysis of otter (Lutra lutra L.) sign distribution in Vytebet Basin. Proceedings of the Kaluzhskie Zaseki State Nature Reserve 1: 275–283. [In Russian]
Hung C.M., Li S.H., Lee L.L. 2004. Faecal DNA typing to determine the abundance and spatial organisation of otters (Lutra lutra) along two stream systems in Kinmen. Animal Conservation 7(3): 301–331. DOI: 10.1017/S1367943004001453
Janiszewski P., Hanzal V., Misiukiewicz W. 2014. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) as a keystone species – a literature review. Baltic Forestry 20(2): 277–286.
Jayasankar P., Anoop B., Rajagopalan M. 2008. PCR-based sex determination of cetaceans and dugong from the Indian seas. Current Science 94: 1513–1516.
Jenkins D., Burrows G.O. 1980. Ecology of Otters in Northern Scotland. III. The Use of Faeces as Indicators of Otter (Lutra lutra) Density and Distribution. Journal of Animal Ecology 49(3): 755–774. DOI: 10.2307/4225
Jo Y.S., Won C.M., Fritts S.R., Wallace M.C., Baccus J.T. 2017. Distribution and habitat models of the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra, in South Korea. Journal of Mammalogy 98(4): 1105–1117. DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyx037
Kalz B., Jewgenow K., Fickel J. 2006. Structure of an otter (Lutra lutra) population in Germany – results of DNA and hormone analyses from faecal samples. Mammalian Biology 71(6): 321–335. DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2006.02.010
Kiseleva N.V., Sorokin P.A. 2013. Study of the distribution of mustelids over the Southern Urals using noninvasive methods. Contemporary Problems of Ecology 6(3): 300–305. DOI: 10.1134/S1995425513030098
Kruuk H. 1995. Wild otters. Predation and populations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 315 p.
Kruuk H., Kruuk S.P.O.N.H. 2006. Otters: ecology, behaviour and conservation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 265 p. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198565871.001.0001
Kudaktin A.N. 2021. Caucasian otter Lutra lutra meridionalis Ognev, 1931. In: Red Data Book of the Russian Federation. Animals. 2^nd ed. Moscow: VNII Ekologiya. P. 981–982. [In Russian]
Lampa S., Henle K., Klenke R., Hoehn M., Gruber B. 2013. How to overcome genotyping errors in non-invasive genetic mark-recapture population size estimation – A review of available methods illustrated by a case study. Journal of Wildlife Management 77(8): 1490–1511. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.604
Lampa S., Mihoub J.B., Gruber B., Klenke R., Henle K. 2015. Non-invasive genetic mark-recapture as a means to study population sizes and marking behaviour of the elusive Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). PLoS ONE 10(5): e0125684. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125684
Liles G. 2003. Otter Breeding Sites. Conservation and Management. Conserving Natura 2000 Rivers Conservation Techniques Series No. 5. Peterborough: English Nature. 35 p.
López-Martín J.M., Jiménez J. (Eds.). 2008. La nutria en España. Veinte años de seguimiento de un mamífero amenazado. Málaga: SECEM. 500 p.
Macdonald S.M., Mason C.F. 1983. The otter Lutra lutra in southern Italy. Biological Conservation 25(2): 95–101. DOI: 10.1016/0006-3207(83)90054-X
Marcelli M., Fusillo R. 2009. Assessing range re-expansion and recolonization of human-impacted landscapes by threatened species: A case study of the otter (Lutra lutra) in Italy. Biodiversity and Conservation 18(11): 2941–2959. DOI: 10.1007/s10531-009-9618-2
Martynov A.V., Kamalova E.S., Lapuzina V.V., Fokina M.E. 2015. Some information about Lutra lutra distribution in Samara Region. Samara Luka: problems of regional and global ecology 24(1): 135–138. [In Russian]
Monakhov V.G., Kolobova O.S. 2017. A study of the distribution of mustelids (Carnivora, Mustelidae) in the Middle Urals using DNA analysis of feces. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 96(5): 563–568. DOI: 10.7868/S0044513417030072 [In Russian]
Mosheva T.A., Gubar Yu.P., Komissarov M.A. 2016. Otter. In: State of hunting resources in Russian Federation in 2008–2013. Available from http://www.ohotcontrol.ru/resource/Resources_2008-2013/Resources_2008-2013.php [In Russian]
Mucci N., Randi E. 2007. Sex identification of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) non-invasive DNA samples using ZFX/ZFY sequences. Conservation Genetics 8(6): 1479–1482. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-007-9303-5
Mucci N., Pertoldi C., Madsen A.B., Loeschcke V., Randi E. 1999. Extremely low mitochondrial DNA control-region sequence variation in the otter Lutra lutra population of Denmark. Hereditas 130(3): 331–336. DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-5223.1999.00331.x
O'Brien T.G., Kinnaird M.F., Wibisono H.T. 2003. Crouching tigers, hidden prey: Sumatran tiger and prey populations in a tropical forest landscape. Animal Conservation 6(2): 131–139. DOI: 10.1017/S1367943003003172
O'Sullivan W.M. 1992. An estimate of otter density on part of the Blackwater catchment in summer. PhD Thesis. Cork: University College.
Oleynikov A.Yu. 2010. River оtter (Lutra lutra L., 1758) in the Botchinskii Nature Reserve. Amurian Zoological Journal 2(4): 378–388. [In Russian]
Oleynikov A.Yu. 2013. Feeding of otter (Lutra Lutra) in different seasons in the Sikhote-Alin Ridge. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 92(1): 106–120. DOI: 10.7868/S0044513412120094 [In Russian]
Oshmarin P.G., Pikunov D.G. 1990. Footprints in nature. Moscow: Nauka. 296 p. [In Russian]
Prenda J., López-Nieves P., Bravo R. 2001. Conservation of otter (Lutra lutra) in a Mediterranean area: the importance of habitat quality and temporal variation in water availability. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 11(5): 343–355. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.454
Prigioni C., Balestrieri A., Remonti L., Sgrosso S., Priore G. 2006. How many otters are there in Italy? Hystrix 17(1). DOI: 10.4404/hystrix-17.1-4362
Riley T., Waggitt J., Davies A. 2020. Distribution modelling of the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Otter, the Journal of the International Otter Survival Fund 6: 30–39.
Rozhnov V.V. 2011. Mediated communication by scent mark in the social behavior of the mammals. Moscow: KMK Scientific Press Ltd. 289 p. [In Russian]
Ruiz-Olmo J., Delibes M. 1998. La nutria en España ante el horizonte del año 2000. Málaga: SECEM. 300 p.
Ruiz-Olmo J., Olmo-Vidal J.M., Manas F., Batet A. 2002. The influence of resource seasonality on the breeding patterns of the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in Mediterranean habitats. Canadian Journal of Zoology 80(12): 2178–2189. DOI: 10.1139/z02-186
Ruiz-Olmo J., Margalida A., Batet A. 2005. Use of small rich patches by Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra L.) females and cubs during the pre-dispersal period. Journal of Zoology 265(4): 339–346. DOI: 10.1017/S0952836905006424
Shin H.Y., Shin G.H., Kim H.H., Kim D.S., Han S.Y., Rho P.H., Lee J.W. 2020. Identifying the riparian type affecting habitat selection of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) (Carnivora: Mustelidae) in Daecheong Dam reservoir area. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 13(2): 134–140. DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2020.02.002
Sidorovich V.E. 1990a. Age-sex structure of otter population and methods of its observation. Izvestiya of AS BSS 3: 25–32. [In Russian]
Sidorovich V.E. 1990b. Otter demography (Lutra lutra L.). Ekologiya 4: 64–69. [In Russian]
Sidorovich V.E. 1995. Mink, otter, weasel and other mustelids. Minsk: Uradzhay. 136 p. [In Russian]
Sidorovich V.E., Jędrzejewska B., Jędrzejewski W. 1996. Winter distribution and abundance of mustelids and beavers in the river valleys of Białowieża Primeval Forest. Acta Theriologica 41(2): 155–170. DOI: 10.4098/AT.arch.96-1
Sulkava R., Sulkava P. 2009. Otter (Lutra lutra) population in northernmost Finland. Estonian Journal of Ecology 58(3): 225–231. DOI: 10.3176/eco.2009.3.07
Ternovskiy D.V. 1977. Biology of mustelids (Mustelidae). Novosibirsk: Nauka. 274 p. [In Russian]
Trindade A., Farinha N., Florêncio E. 1998. A distribuição da Lontra (Lutralutra) em Portugal – Situação de 1995. Estudosde biologia e Conservação daNatureza, 28. Lisboa: Instituto da Conservação da Natureza. 138 p.
Vshivtsev V.P. 1972. Otter in Sakhalin. Novosibirsk: Nauka. 78 p. [In Russian]
Weinberger I.C., Muff S., de Jongh A., Kranz A., Bontadina F. 2016. Flexible habitat selection paves the way for a recovery of otter populations in the European Alps. Biological Conservation 199: 88–95. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.017
Zholnerovskaya E.I., Shvetsov Yu.G., Kalabin S.L., Lopatina N.V. 1989. Catalogue of collections of the Zoological museum of Biological Institute, Siberian Branch, USSR Academy of Sciences. Mammmals. Novosibirsk: Nauka. 161 p.