Demographic And Genetic Status Of A Reintroduced River Otter Population In North-central New Mexico

The objective of this project is to noninvasively survey the reintroduced North American river otter (Lontracanadensis) population in the Rio Grande River basin of north-central New Mexico. 1) produce spatially explicit estimates of population density, abundance, and population growth rate, and estimate population genetics parameters critical to conservation and management, 2) investigate for the presence of founder and Allee effects that may have resulted from releasing the small founder group into a waterway devoid of conspecifics , and 3) investigate for genetic connectivity (i.e. gene flow) that may have been established between the reintroduced population and a naturally expanding population in the San Juan River basin of northeastern New Mexico. This project does not involve the capture and handling of otters and therefore does not require an IACUC protocol.