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Hello from all of us at the Otter Project, we thank you for your continued support and hope you enjoy reading about what we have been up to.
Features
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Continue to report dead otters
T o continue our research we rely on the public reporting sightings of dead otters to the relevant organisations, and are very grateful to the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, International Otter Survival Fund, Wales Trunk Roads Agencies, Wildlife Trusts and local otter and mammal groups for collecting and delivering otters to us. After some disruption during the pandemic, many areas are collecting otters again, so please call the usual numbers. If collectors are unable to pick up the otter please contact us on otters@cardiff.ac.uk.
Please also report all otter locations, and locations of other dead wildlife, to www.projectsplatter.co.uk.
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Spread the word
Please forward this newsletter on to any colleagues or friends who might be interested. They can also sign up for future newsletters here.
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What would you like to know?
Please get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions for what you would like to see in our next newsletter.
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News from the lab
Since our new team started in late August, we have performed post mortem (PM) examinations and sample retrieval on 47 Eurasian otters, one Asian short-clawed otter (left), two pole cats (right), two mink and one ferret: 53 animals in total. We are now fully up to speed (in training, it was taking us all day to do two otters, but we can now do six in a day) and have started to bring some fantastic volunteers (mainly from the bioscience undergraduate and postgraduate population) to assist in the lab.
 
A few weeks ago, instead of spending our lab time conducting post mortem examinations of otters we spent the week sorting and cutting up hundreds of frozen liver samples. This may sound a bit mundane (and in practice it did become a bit monotonous) but it was a vital part of an interesting project we are undertaking with the Environment Agency (EA). These samples represent otters found all over England from 2015-2020 and will be analysed by the EA for a range of contaminants. This will provide data that will inform their ongoing work to protect the environment.
 
We know that there are still many found otters from the last few years in freezers around the country that will be on their way to us shortly as the world starts to open up and we look forward to adding them to our archive. We have now examined over 4000 otters which is an amazing achievement - to have an archive of biological samples from over 4000 otters, covering more than quarter of a century (the otter project started in 1994) is such an important resource for ecology research. We thank all our partners for their help in keeping this brilliant project going!
Jo Wilson
November 2021
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Dead peregrine falcon found on the university building
Frozen for the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme
Organochlorine pesticides and industrial chemicals called PCBs were responsible for the dramatic decline seen in British otter populations from the 1950s-1970s. Otters are particularly at risk from these toxic chemicals because of 'bioaccumulation' whereby otters (and other top predators) accumulate the highest concentrations of these chemicals. Peregrine falcons and other birds of prey are top predators of the terrestrial environment, and therefore are also at high risk from biomagnifying contaminants. During the 1950s-1970s the organochlorine pesticides accumulating in the birds caused the shells of their eggs to be too thin and to break before the chicks were fully formed. This caused a population crash amongst the birds of prey at the same time as the otters.
Legislation and restriction of the pesticides have meant peregrine falcon populations have increased in the UK, and these birds can once again be spotted across Britain, including in urban areas where they nest on tall buildings. Recently a dead peregrine falcon was found by a member of the buildings team on the roof of Cardiff University’s bioscience building. We found it very interesting being able to observe the markings and impressive talons of the bird up close, and (after taking some tissue samples for our colleagues working in molecular ecology!) we froze the carcass so it can be sent to the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme for analysis.
Just like the Otter Project, the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme (PBMS) is a long-term national contaminant monitoring scheme. PBMS quantifies the concentrations of contaminants in the livers and eggs of predatory birds and uses the data to understand how and why concentrations vary between species and regions, how concentrations vary over time, and the effects that the chemicals may have on individual birds and on populations. The project has published papers on a range of contaminants including PFAS, pharmaceuticals, rodenticides, metals and neonicotinoids. More information on the project, how to send them birds found dead, and their publications can be found on their website. The Otter Project and PBMS work together as part of WILDCOMS, which is a collaborative network formed between a number of UK surveillance schemes that monitor disease and contaminants in vertebrate wildlife. Further information on all the schemes involved in WILDCOMS, what samples they collect, and the research they have undertaken can be found on the website.
  
 
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Asian short-clawed otter received from Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary
In September we completed the post mortem of an Asian short-clawed otter which had been sent in from the Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary. It provided a very interesting opportunity to compare the anatomy with our usual Eurasian otters!
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National Museum of Scotland Visit
In mid-October, a small group comprised of myself, Amy, Chloe, and Katie went up to Edinburgh to carry out an inventory of the otter bones that we routinely send to our collaborative partners at the National Museum of Scotland.
Starting as samples taken during post-mortems, the bones are sent to the Collection Centre where their expert team cleans the bones using a process known as maceration – a method used by only a few museums in the UK. A sneak peek behind the scenes allowed us (or at least the others who had the stomach for it) to see this specialised treatment in action. The newly cleaned bones are painstakingly labelled, recorded, and boxed by hand before going into storage in the museum’s archives.
We spent four days sorting through ~3500 boxes to check if skull, jaw, teeth, rib, fibula, tibia, patella, and femur bones were present for each otter. Otters from areas of interest were identified and their bones removed from the collection to be sent on to the University of Nottingham for a collaborative study with CUOP, investigating the impact of trace metal contaminants on ecosystems and wildlife. Small sections will be removed from each bone and undergo destructive analysis to quantify lead concentrations, and explore the data in relation to potential environmental sources.
 
On our day off, Amy, Katie and I took the opportunity to visit Edinburgh Zoo in the hope of seeing living otters. We managed to see every single species in the zoo except the Asian small-clawed otters, Barry and Luna, who were hiding away in their holt with their recently born pups. We did, however, get an amazingly close view of a Sumatran tiger and a distant look at the back of one of the UK’s only giant pandas. My favorite animal was the red panda who had scaled a rather tall tree and was tucking into some food whilst Amy preferred the sloth that was chilling upside down. Katie was enamored with the baby pygmy hippopotamus, and we all enjoyed watching an armadillo rooting around in soil and following one of the zookeepers around its enclosure.
In the evening, we ventured up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle, discovering along the way a restaurant that sells the best halloumi fries I’ve ever eaten - there was also a spectacular view over the city.
On our last day, we were kindly given a tour by Zena Timmons, the Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Biology, around the other specimen storage rooms, seeing everything from wet-stored marine invertebrates to the colossal vertebrae of whales and a huge taxidermy moose.
Five days, thousands of bones, and a fried mars bar later we arrived back in Cardiff, rejoining Jo who had kept the office running in our absence.
Yaz Russell
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River Basin Network
Eurasian otters, like a number of other top predators in Britain, faced a dramatic population decline during the 1950s-70s due to bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants. As the top predator in their habitat, they are an excellent sentinel for wider environmental health and our location data shows the recovery of otters after they were granted legal protection and the dieldrin and DDT pesticides and PCB chemicals which led to the 1950-70 population crash were banned. Recovery has been largely successful, however, some populations remain small, and the species has not recovered to pre-crash levels. For example, we have received only 46 otters from the South East England River Catchment since the project began in 1994 (mostly from Hampshire), perhaps unsurprising as Kent was the last county in England to report a return of otters to the area, this was in 2011.
It is also important to note that while numbers in each river basin are indicative of population it does very much depend on our collection network (in some areas, well coordinated volunteer groups help with otter collections and we get better coverage); and how long we have been collecting in that area. When the project first began, more otters came from Wales than elsewhere in the UK, and we have only been collecting from Scotland since 2014. So, while our graphic might initially suggest that scotland has a much lower population than England and Wales, this is not the case – we know that Scottish populations did not suffer as badly from the population decline. The IOSF (International Otter Survival Fund) coordinate efforts in Scotland, but more help is needed to improve our coverage there.
Amy Laird + Emily O’Rourke
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Latest publication
Determination of 56 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in top predators and their prey from Northern Europe by LC-MS/MS
The Otter Project has been involved in a large European collaborative project, called LIFE APEX, which is looking at how contaminant data from apex predators can be used in chemicals monitoring and management. The project has collected common buzzards, harbour porpoises, grey and harbour seals, and Eurasian otters from across Europe, thereby examining the chemical contaminant concentrations in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments. Being at the top of their respective food chains these apex predators accumulate the highest concentrations of contaminants through biomagnification up the food chain, and potentially show detectable concentrations of trace contaminants which might go undetected at lower trophic levels (or in abiotic samples). The animals can be used as effective sentinels (indicators) of the relative contaminant levels in the area where they have lived, and we can use this data to examine how environmental levels have changed over time, or how they differ in different parts of Europe or with different land use.
The project has analysed for a wide range of contaminants such as PCBs, pesticides, PBDEs (flame retardants), PFAS, pharmaceuticals and mercury. This publication focused on the analysis of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the apex predators plus prey species (freshwater and marine fish) from the UK, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. PFAS are a large family of chemicals used in many consumer projects for their oil and water repelling properties; they have been used in firefighting foam, food packaging, non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, stain resistant products and paints, amongst other things. Studies have shown PFAS to be detrimental to health in humans and wildlife. PFAS are also known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they are extremely persistent in the environment, the carbon-hydrogen bonds which all PFAS possess are very strong and therefore the compounds resist degradation. Our study showed a number of these PFAS to be ubiquitous across all species analysed and at relatively high concentrations, highlighting the widespread nature of PFAS in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments and the potential risk to wildlife. As was expected, concentrations of PFAS were higher in the apex predators than in the fish, due to the biomagnification. Freshwater species had the highest concentrations (freshwater fish had higher concentrations than marine fish, and otters had higher concentrations than buzzards, porpoises, or seals). This is probably due to freshwater species being in closer proximity to anthropogenic sources of PFAS. The use of PFOS and PFOA, two of the most commonly detected PFAS, has now been restricted under the Stockholm Convention (PFOS added in 2009 and PFOA in 2019). Despite this, PFOS was still detected at the highest concentrations due to its extreme persistence and bioaccumulative potential. Other substances which have been used as replacements for PFOS and PFOA in products were also detected; for example, F-53B was detected in an otter from the UK. F-53B is used in the electroplating industry, but it has been suggested that it is only used in China. It‘s occurrence in a UK otter highlights a need for tighter controls and further investigation. Although research on PFAS replacements remains limited, there are suggestions that they present risks similar to those of the chemicals that they are replacing. The results of the study highlight the importance of PFAS monitoring and a tighter global approach to controls, in order to reduce health risks of both wildlife and humans.
 
The paper can be found here.
More information on the LIFE APEX Project can be found on the website and twitter.
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World Otter Day 2021
For World Otter Day in May 2021, we hosted an online seminar on our work and ongoing research projects. Dr Frank Hailer hosted the seminar with research findings presented by Dr Liz Chadwick, and PhD students Emily O’Rourke and Sarah Du Plessis. We were really pleased there was so much interest (with over 100 people attending) and we were able to answer so many questions on the day. If you have a question feel free to get in touch! Catch up with our work and watch the seminar here!
Liz also visited a local primary school in Cardiff and talked to three classes of 7 and 8 year olds about water pollution. She spoke about how pollutants in the water bioaccumulate up the food chain and affect top predators, and how pollution that we can't even see might affect our health and wildlife. She told them about the otters local to them in the river Taff, and how we can identify them by sniffing their poo! By making the link between pollution in their local river, and a loveable species such as the otter will hopefully encourage a new generation of budding ecologists.
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PhD opportunity
NERC GW4+ DTP Studentship - Biomonitoring of Antimicrobial Resistance in UK Freshwater Ecosystems: an Integrated Microbiological and Genomic Approach
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are projected to become one of the greatest emerging challenges to healthcare and agriculture settings worldwide. Come and join the otter project team to take up an exciting opportunity for research in this area.
Further information and details on how to apply can be found here. Please email otters@cardiff.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Monday 10th January 2022
NERC ECORISC CDT Studentship - Synthetic Chemicals in Terrestrial and Freshwater Biota: Drivers and Consequences of Landscape Scale Variation
As part of the ECORSIC PhD programme we are able to offer a studentship exploring synthetic chemicals in terrestrial and freshwater biota. The project will explore landscape scale variation in chemical contamination, and builds on a partnership between the CUOP and the PBMS.
Further information and details on how to apply can be found here. Please email otters@cardiff.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Deadline for applications is 05:00pm on Monday 3rd January 2022
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Opportunities to work and study with the Otter Project
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Placement year opportunities –
Applications have now closed for academic year 2022-2023 placement students. If you are an undergraduate student, from any university, and and are interested in a placement for academic year 2022-23, look out for adverts early next year on facebook, twitter and our website. This placement allows students to develop their research, data handling, spatial mapping, post mortem and public engagement skills. It is is designed for undergraduates for their professional training year which occurs in third year, however we accept applications from anyone. No previous experience needed.
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Student research projects - We welcome enquiries from students looking for undergraduate and postgraduate research opportunities. For example for third year undergraduate dissertations, MRes in Biosciences projects, MSc in Global Ecology and Conservation projects, or PhD projects. We are currently advertising a PhD position - see above. If you have ideas for research with us, please get in touch by emailing otters@cardiff.ac.uk.
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Research collaboration opportunities – We welcome approaches from potential visiting researchers. Please contact us on otters@cardiff.ac.uk to discuss any collaboration ideas.
Check the website for updates on current opportunities.
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