Project Information

Title: Responses of River Otters to Oil Contamination: A Controlled Study of Biological Stress Markers 00348-CLO

Project Year and Number: 2000: 00348-CLO

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 1999: 99348, 1998: 98348

Principal Investigator (PI): Merav Ben-David (University of Wyoming)

Managing Agency: ADFG

Assisting Personnel: Terry Bowyer, Lawrence Duffy

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: River Otters

Abstract: This project will complete data analyses and manuscript preparation for Project /348, which was designed to explore the effects of oil contamination on physiological responses in river otters. Fifteen captive otters were exposed to two levels of oil contamination under controlled conditions at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Samples of blood, tissues and feces were collected for analysis of biomarkers and for immunological examinations. A wealth of data was collected during the experiment phase. Completion of data analyses and publication of results are especially important in light of the recent listing by the Trustee Council of river otters as a recovered species.


Proposal: Not Available

Reports:
Final Report: See Project 99348

Publications from this Project: Ben-David, M.; Blundell, G. M., and Blake, J. E. Post-release survival of river otters: effects of exposure to crude oil and captivity. Journal of Wildlife Management. 2002; 66(4):1208-1223. Find it
Ben-David, M.; Bowyer, R. T., and Faro, J. B. Niche separation by mink and river otters: coexistence in a marine environment. Oikos. 1996; 75:41-48. Find it
Ben-David M.; Duffy, L. K., and Bowyer, R. T. Biomarker responses in river otters experimentally exposed to oil contamination. Journal of Wildlife Diseases . 2001; 37(3):489-508. Find it
Ben-David, M.; Kondratyuk, T.; Woodin, B. R.; Snyder, P. W., and Stegeman, J. J. Induction of cytochrome P450 1A1 expression in captive river otters fed Prudhoe Bay crude oil: evaluation by immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR. Biomarkers. 2001; 6(3):218-235. Find it