Green Friday: River Otter Ecology Project

Our presenter will be Robert Aston of the River Otter Ecology Project (ROEP).  River otters are charismatic carnivores, and make wonderful ambassadors for river and wetland restoration and conservation efforts.  Once extirpated in the San Francisco Bay area, little is known about their current population, range, and seasonal eating habits.  The ROEP has taken on the challenge of discovering and documenting their ecological niche, with the goal of informing land use decisions and preserving habitat for these lively aquatic mammals.

Robert will lead us in a discussion of what we know, what needs to be discovered, and just how we manage to research elusive, secretive mammals who slide into the water and disappear when approached.  Robert will show slides and videos from our "otter-cams", and discuss the project and the role that citizen science plays in this otterly exciting work!