School of Biosciences

The Cardiff University Otter Project (CUOP)

Otters on Bank

In 2004 I took on my current role as Project Manager for the CUOP. The project is part-funded by the Environment Agency, who have supported post-mortem examinations of otters found dead in the UK since 1992. Since then, Cardiff University have examined well over 800 dead otters, looking at various factors including sex, age-class, size, reproductive status, injuries, disease, abnormalities (such as kidney stones) and parasites.

The initial impetus for this study was the potential link between the dramatic decline in otter populations in the 1950s and 1960s, and pollutants such as PCBs and organochlorine pesticides (OCs). Liver samples retained at post mortem are analysed by the Environment Agency, and form a long-term record of pollutants. As top-predator, pollutants found in otter tissues can be a valuable indicator of pollutants in the aquatic environment in which the otter feeds.

Otter swimming in river

A number of additional organs and tissues are also retained, forming a unique archive, with records of where/when each animal was found cross-referenced to post mortem findings such as nutritional and reproductive status, and age-class. This archive enables a diverse range of research. Since starting as Project Manager, I have developed a number of new collaborations and projects in addition to ongoing monitoring of health indicators and PCBs/OCs.

The Cardiff University Otter Project relies on reports of carcasses by members of the public, and organisations such as the Environment Agency, Countryside Council for Wales, UK Wildlife Trusts, the police and local authorities.

In the event of finding a dead otter, please telephone 0800 807060 (Environment Agency) or 0845 1306229 (Countryside Council for Wales) with details of the location.

Current Projects

• Cardiff University Otter Project

• Landscape genetics – PhD study by Geoff Hobbs at Cardiff University using muscle tissue (co-supervised with Prof M Bruford & Dr F Slater ; additional samples from southern England obtained through collaboration with V Simpson at the Wildlife VIC in Cornwall).
• Diet – PhD study by Gareth Parry at Swansea University using contents of stomach and gastro-intestinal tract (supervised by Dr D Forman).
• Parasites – a study of endo- and ecto-parasites carried out in collaboration with D Forman; including ticks, intestinal parasites, canine heart-worm, gall-fluke, and (under development) Toxoplasma gondii.
• Pollutants - Lead levels in bone assessed in collaboration with V Simpson at the Wildlife VIC in Cornwall. PBDEs in liver assessed as part of a PhD study by Angela Pountney at the University of Exeter, supervised by Dr J Stevens and Prof Charles Tyler. PCBs and OCs in liver measured by the Environment Agency, data analysed by CUOP.
• Age – Indicators such as morphometrics, cranial sutures, reproductive status and baculum [penis-bone] size to be analysed in conjunction with cementum analysis of teeth (currently being undertaken at Matson’s lab in the USA). Bone samples cleaned by the National Museums of Scotland (NMS), to be held in their archive (A Kitchener, principal curator of mammals and birds).
• Cranial morphometrics – Examination of sexual dimorphism in size and shape of the skull, jaw and teeth in relation to diet. Preliminary research undertaken by final year student (Joanna Bishop) at Cardiff University. Further research in collaboration with D Forman, Swansea. Skulls cleaned by NMS, to be held in their archive (as above).
• Marine derived nutrients(MDNs) – Funding applied for to use stable isotope analysis of otter bone and muscle as an indicator of the contribution of MDNs to freshwater catchments, via vectors such as anadromous fish. Preliminary research undertaken in collaboration with Dr Rona McGill at the NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility (LSMSF).