Conservation Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Variation in reproductive photosynthetic compensation of distinct germplasm varieties of a native rangeland grass, <i>Pseudoroegneria spicata,</i> following floral defoliation.","authors":"Kathleen M Quigley, Rory C O'Connor, Thomas A Monaco, Erik P Hamerlynck","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae078","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding plant ecophysiological functioning is critical in formulating effective ecologically based strategies to conserve and enhance resiliency and resistance in sagebrush steppe, as well as improving their restoration following degradation by interactive effects of climate change, wildland fire and invasive annual grasses. Recent research has shown increased reproductive photosynthesis following floral defoliation can be important to reproductive potential, yet how this is expressed in plant material selected for different functional attributes is unknown. To address this, we measured photosynthetic gas exchange in clipped and unclipped basal florets and flag leaves of two germplasms of the native perennial bunchgrass, bluebunch wheatgrass, var. Anatone and var. Columbia, selected for higher reproductive culm production. Clipping induced a stronger direct compensatory reproductive photosynthetic response in basal florets of Anatone compared to Columbia germplasm individuals, with no indirect compensatory response apparent in unaffected distal florets of either germplasm. Flag-leaf photosynthesis did not differ between the germplasm lines, but Columbia flag leaves did show evidence of increased photosynthesis on culms with clipped basal florets. These findings suggest selection for increased flowering culms may alter reproductive herbivory tolerance, a feature important in the convergence of herbivory and drought tolerance traits. Such information could help in planning effective seed mixes to enhance population stability across highly variable sagebrush steppe ecosystems, as well as directing future plant material selection to improve restoration success in these economically important rangelands.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae078"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11575493/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142677794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Validating enzyme immunoassays for non-invasive reproductive hormone monitoring in Temminck's pangolin.","authors":"Juan Scheun, Andre Ganswindt, Raymond Jansen, Kim Labuschagne","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae079","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae079","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gonadal hormones play a central role in reproductive function and success. As such, quantifying reproductive hormones non-invasively in threatened, vulnerable and endangered wildlife species offers an ideal tool for assessing general and individual reproductive patterns <i>in situ</i>. Whilst the use of faeces as a hormone matrix is often preferred in these cases, the required enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for measuring faecal androgen (fAM), oestrogen (fEM) and progestagen metabolite (fPM) concentrations must first be validated if a species gets investigated for the first time to ensure biologically relevant patterns can be observed. In this study we aimed to biologically validate the EIAs for monitoring fAM, fEM and fPM concentrations in Temminck's pangolin, <i>Smutsia temminckii</i>. Hormone metabolite concentrations derived from each EIA tested were compared between different age and sex classes. An epiandrosterone EIA effectively measured androgen levels in males, distinguishing between adult and juvenile individuals, as well as both female age classes. Similarly, the tested oestrogen EIA successfully distinguished between adult and juvenile female fEM concentrations, and both tested progestagen EIAs demonstrated adequate differences between fPM concentrations of adult and juvenile females. The now-validated EIAs offer robust tools for a non-invasive monitoring of reproductive activity in Temminck's pangolin. The development of such techniques will allow researchers to assess reproductive hormone patterns of the species <i>in situ</i>, whilst also paving the way for further studies in this field. Despite the small sample size due to the species' conservation status, the study provides a foundation for future research using a robust, validated, non-invasive monitoring tool. The latter can now be implemented in long-term monitoring with larger sample sizes to yield more comprehensive data, aiding in the conservation of Temminck's pangolin.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae079"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11562634/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142632605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The plasma proteome reveals markers of recent and repeated stress in free-ranging seals.","authors":"Jessica G Avalos, Cory D Champagne, Dan E Crocker, Jane I Khudyakov","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae075","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae075","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Animals in nature potentially experience multiple stressors, and those of anthropogenic origin are likely to be repeated or chronic. However, stress hormone levels are highly context-dependent and are not consistent predictors of chronic stress in wildlife. Profiling the downstream consequences of repeated stress responses, such as changes in metabolism or gene expression, may be more informative for predicting their individual-level health consequences and population-level impacts, which are key objectives for wildlife conservation. We previously found that in free-ranging juvenile elephant seals, the blubber transcriptome and proteome, but not cortisol levels, could distinguish between responses to single versus repeated stress axis stimulation. However, the blubber proteome response to stress was limited and mainly involved extra-cellular matrix proteins. In this study, we examined the plasma proteome response of four of the same animals to the repeated stress experiment, since multiple organs secrete proteins into the circulation, providing a readout of their activity and integration. We isolated plasma proteins, identified and quantified them using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and compared their abundance between sampling times. We identified >200 proteins in plasma, of which 42 were altered in abundance, revealing complex protein dynamics in response to repeated stress challenges. These changes were delayed but sustained, suggesting that the plasma proteome may reflect longer term integration of multi-organ responses to recent, rather than immediate, challenges. Differentially abundant proteins included components of the osmoregulatory system, acute phase and complement proteins, organokines, apolipoproteins and hormone transport proteins, which coordinate physiological processes with significant implications for marine mammal health and may explain several aspects of marine mammal stress physiology, such as insulin resistance and high aldosterone levels. We identified several potentially novel biomarkers, such as AGT, HPX, TTR and APOA4, that may be useful for detecting recent and repeated stress exposure in marine mammals.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae075"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11533252/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142575202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Repeatability of swimming activity of the Patagonian grouper <i>Acanthistius patachonicus</i> based on accelerometry.","authors":"Leonardo A Venerus, Paolo Domenici, Stefano Marras, Lucas E Beltramino, Javier E Ciancio","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coae074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study of repeatability in behaviour and activity level can be used to evaluate inter-individual differences, which are fundamental to assess the resilience of populations to environmental variation. Previous work on repeatability in wild fish populations has largely been based on acoustic telemetry or mark-and-recapture and has revealed repeatable activity patterns over relatively long periods in a number of species. Although accelerometry is a promising tool for investigating the swimming activity of fish in the wild, little is known about the repeatability of accelerometry-based traits in wild fish. Here, we used external accelerometers to investigate the swimming activity of the Patagonian grouper <i>Acanthistius patachonicus</i>, a rocky-reef fish with high site fidelity, which ensures a high recapture rate of accelerometer tags. Accelerometry was used to investigate the short-term repeatability of a number of activity traits, including swimming, hovering, daily median tailbeat frequency, percentage of high tailbeat frequency and total number of tailbeats at different times of the year. We found that all of the variables are repeatable over the daily scale and four out of five variables are repeatable over weekly periods. Overall, our work suggests that these traits are individual-specific for the short time period investigated. In addition, the percentage of time spent in swimming and hovering was greater in the warm season compared to the cold season, suggesting higher activity levels related to higher temperatures. These results suggest that activity traits related to swimming are repeatable and likely related to the physiological state of each individual. Finally, our work shows that accelerometry can be considered a valuable tool to explore inter-individual differences with potential applications for assessing the resilience of wild populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae074"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11519044/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142548934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Captivity conditions matter for the gut microbiota of an endangered obligate hibernator.","authors":"Pauline M L van Leeuwen, Gabriela F Mastromonaco, Nadia Mykytczuk, Albrecht I Schulte-Hostedde","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae072","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conservation breeding programmes include translocations of animals across breeding facilities, both <i>in</i> and <i>ex situ</i>, and to/from their natural habitat. Newly reintroduced Vancouver Island marmots (VIMs) originating from the captive breeding programme are known to experience high winter mortality once reintroduced. Whilst high winter mortality rates amongst reintroduced VIM populations remain a concern of unknown causes, this health issue could potentially be linked to changes in gut microbiota prior to hibernation. Furthermore, captivity is known to impact the gut microbiota of mammals that could be crucial for hibernation. In this study, we explored the diversity of bacterial communities in the gut of captive marmots during the entire active season, both kept in captivity at <i>in situ</i> and <i>ex situ</i> facilities, as well as free-ranging marmots during the summer period. Gut microbial diversity was higher in marmots held in <i>ex situ</i> facilities, outside of their habitat range, compared to captive marmots held within their habitat range, and in the wild, and differences in composition were also observed. In the entire active season, animals kept in the <i>ex situ</i> facility had increased abundance in taxa known to be mucin degraders, sulphate producers and possible cross-feeders, whilst an increase in fibre degraders of <i>in situ</i> and free-ranging marmots is potentially linked to diet variation between facilities. These results confirm the interest to transfer animals held at zoos to an <i>in situ</i> facility before relocation and expand our understanding of microbiota variation according to hibernation cycles in the context of conservation biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae072"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11503477/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142512965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiple stressors disrupt sex hormones and fitness outcomes: effects of hypoxia and turbidity on an African cichlid fish.","authors":"Bethany L Williams, Lauren M Pintor, Jai Tiarks, Suzanne M Gray","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae066","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Freshwater organisms face a complex array of environmental stressors that can negatively affect endocrine function and subsequent fitness outcomes. Hypoxia and turbidity are two environmental stressors that are increasing due to human activities that could lead to endocrine disruption and reduced reproductive output. Our research addresses how hypoxia and elevated turbidity affect traits related to reproductive success, specifically sex hormone concentrations, investment in reproductive tissues and body size. We used wild fish from two populations (a river and a swamp) of an African cichlid, <i>Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor</i>, to produce offspring that were reared in a full factorial split brood rearing experiment (hypoxic/normoxic × clear/turbid). River and swamp populations represent divergent habitat types with respect to the stressors of interest, being well-oxygenated but turbid or hypoxic and clear, respectively. Overall, we found evidence for plastic responses to both stressors. Specifically, we found that there was an interactive effect of oxygen and turbidity on testosterone in males from both populations. Additionally, males of both populations reared under hypoxic conditions were significantly smaller in both mass and standard length than those raised under normoxic conditions and invested less in reproductive tissues (quantified as gonadosomatic index). Hypoxia and turbidity are experienced naturally by this species, and these environmental stressors did not affect the number of eggs laid by females when experienced in the absence of another stressor (i.e. normoxic/turbid or hypoxic/clear). However, there was an interactive effect of hypoxia and turbidity, as females reared and maintained under this treatment combination laid fewer eggs. This research underscores the importance of considering the possibility of stressor interactions when determining how anthropogenic stressors affect fitness outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae066"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11496714/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142512966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal variation in thermal tolerance and hypoxia tolerance of a threatened minnow and a non-imperilled congener: a cautionary tale for surrogate species in conservation.","authors":"Jessica E Reemeyer, Dominique Rumball, Nicholas E Mandrak, Lauren J Chapman","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coae071","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Freshwater organisms face multiple threats to their ecosystems, including warming associated with climate change and low dissolved oxygen (environmental hypoxia), which are both increasing in frequency and extent in freshwater systems. Understanding tolerance thresholds for these environmental stressors as well as the plasticity of responses is the key for informing the conservation of imperilled species. Direct measurement of imperilled species can be difficult, and the use of surrogate (non-imperilled but closely related) species has been proposed as a remedy, but the degree to which surrogate data are representative of the imperilled species has not been widely validated. In this study, we measured physiological performance of two species: one federally listed as Threatened in Canada (Pugnose Shiner, <i>Miniellus anogenus</i>) and a non-imperilled congener (Blackchin Shiner, <i>Miniellus heterodon</i>). Hypoxia tolerance (critical oxygen tension and loss of equilibrium) and upper thermal tolerance (CT_max) were measured streamside over a period of 5 months. We found that the Threatened Pugnose Shiner had lower tolerance to both elevated temperature and hypoxia than the non-imperilled Blackchin Shiner. The species also differed in their responses to environmental dissolved oxygen (DO). CT_max of Pugnose Shiner had a positive relationship with DO such that CT_max was lowered when environmental DO was low, whereas there was no effect of DO on CT_max of Blackchin Shiner. Blackchin Shiner also showed plasticity of hypoxia tolerance in response to changes in environmental DO, while Pugnose Shiner showed little plasticity. We conclude that Pugnose Shiner may be more sensitive to heat waves and hypoxia associated with climate change. We also assert that researchers should be cautious when using surrogate species to inform tolerance limits of imperilled species and highlight the value of measuring imperilled species directly when possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae071"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11482009/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142480771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing the prediction of discard survival of bottom-trawled plaice based on vitality indicators.","authors":"Sven Sebastian Uhlmann, Esther Savina, Junita Karlsen, Bart Ampe","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae070","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Predicting the discard survival of aquatic animals after fisheries capture using vitality indicators (i.e. individual scores or indices of physical condition) is a resource-efficient approach compared to estimating discard survival from captive observation. But such indicators do not always lead to accurate and robust predictions. Individual scores of reflex impairments and injuries are typically given the same weight when being aggregated into an index, while some reflexes or injuries may contribute to mortality more than others. This study established an analytical methodology and created an index based on differential contributions of individual reflexes and injuries to optimize the prediction of discard survival of bottom-trawled European plaice (<i>Pleuronectes platessa</i>). The optimization procedures were applied to a dataset from vitality assessment of 1122 undersized plaice caught during 16 commercial fishing trips and 58 gear deployments in Belgium and Denmark. As welfare indicators, we considered and evaluated against post-capture survival of plaice: original vs. optimized reflex impairment and injury (R&I) index, number of absent reflexes, number of present injuries, number of absent reflexes and present injuries, categorical vitality score and individual reflex and injury scores. These were used in eight candidate generalized linear models (one without any vitality indicator) as explanatory variables to predict survival, with or without biological, environmental, technical and operational covariates, either at the individual fish or trip level. Bruising to the head and body were the most relevant predictors. The optimized R&I index did not perform better than any other vitality indicator, and all the indicators performed poorly in predicting survival probability both at the fish and trip levels without information on air exposure and seawater temperature. This means that they cannot be considered to be independent measures. The categorical vitality score provided a viable alternative to the more labour-intensive, scoring method of reflex responsiveness. Use of reflexes as proxies may not be accurate when they are not independent of environmental, biological or technical variables.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae070"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11464240/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142401961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The heat is on: sensitivity of goldsinny wrasse to global climate change.","authors":"Diana Perry, Elena Tamarit, Daniel Morgenroth, Albin Gräns, Joachim Sturve, Martin Gullström, Peter Thor, Håkan Wennhage","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coae068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Unsustainable harvesting practices have drastically reduced fish populations globally and developments in aquaculture have increased. Unexpectedly, Atlantic salmon farming caused the opening of a new fishery in northern European countries, where previously unharvested mesopredatory species, like the goldsinny wrasse (<i>Ctenolabrus rupestris</i>), are captured for use as cleaner fish in pens along the coast and fjords. The goldsinny wrasse is widespread in coastal areas where it plays an ecologically important role as a predator of small invertebrates. Since climate change effects are particularly pronounced in coastal waters, it becomes urgent to understand how fish like the goldsinny will respond to global climate change, including the increasing frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs), ocean freshening (OF) and ocean acidification (OA). To address this, we conducted a multi-stressor experiment exposing adult goldsinny to each stressor individually, as well as to all three combined. The results indicated that the goldsinny is highly affected by MHWs and extremely sensitive to a multi-stressor environment, with 34% and 53% mortality, respectively. Additionally, exposure to a MHW event, OF and multi-stressor conditions affected fish metabolism, with the highest standard metabolic- and maximum metabolic-oxygen consumption rates observed for the MHW treatment. Increases in oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and percent oxidized glutathione (% GSSG) in the livers, indicative of oxidative stress, were also seen in the MHW, OF and multi-stressor treatments. As a single stressor, OA showed no significant impacts on the measured parameters. This information is important for conservation of coastal marine environments, given the species' important role in shallow-water habitats and for management of goldsinny or other mesopredatory fish harvested in coastal ecosystems. The sensitivity of the goldsinny wrasse to future stressors is of concern, and any potential reductions in abundance as a result of climate change may lead to cascade effects with ecosystem-wide consequences.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae068"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11459238/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142395289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Data needs for sea otter bioenergetics modeling.","authors":"Blaine D Griffen, Lexanne Klimes, Laura S Fletcher, Nicole M Thometz","doi":"10.1093/conphys/coae067","DOIUrl":"10.1093/conphys/coae067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sea otters are keystone predators whose recovery and expansion from historical exploitation throughout their range can serve to enhance local biodiversity, promote community stability, and buffer against habitat loss in nearshore marine systems. Bioenergetics models have become a useful tool in conservation and management efforts of marine mammals generally, yet no bioenergetics model exists for sea otters. Previous research provides abundant data that can be used to develop bioenergetics models for this species, yet important data gaps remain. Here we review the available data that could inform a bioenergetics model, and point to specific open questions that could be answered to more fully inform such an effort. These data gaps include quantifying energy intake through foraging by females with different aged pups in different quality habitats, the influence of body size on energy intake through foraging, and determining the level of fat storage that is possible in sea otters of different body sizes. The more completely we fill these data gaps, the more confidence we can have in the results and predictions produced by future bioenergetics modeling efforts for this species.</p>","PeriodicalId":54331,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Physiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"coae067"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11465142/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142401960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}