Estimates of carrying capacity for sea otters in Washington state
Laidre KL, Jameson RJ, Jeffries SJ, Hobbs RC, Bowlby CE, VanBlaricom GR. 2002. Estimates of carrying capacity for sea otters in Washington state. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 30(4):1172-1181
From the Abstract: "We obtained index estimates of carrying capacity (K) for hte Washington sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) population as products of the density of sea otters a euilibrium within a portion of their existing range and the total amount of available habitat. We classified sea otter habitat as rocky, sandy, or mixed during aerial surveys along the Washington coast in March 2000. We characterized substrate type and kelp composition from the coast to the 40-m depth contour and computed area ... and available coastline... within each habitat. We calculated maximum foraging depths and maximum distanad from shore for 68 sea otters radiotagged between 1994 and 1998 and used the estimates to approximate the offshore extent of sea otter habitat. ... Our results will facilitate decision-making by entrusted management agencies regarding stock assessment ad population status under the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Laidre, Kristin; Jameson, Ronald; Jeffries, Steven; Hobbs, Roderick; Bowlby, C; VanBlaricom, Glenn
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)