Many otters project - coding analysis of otter behavior with foraged puzzles

Authors

Isaiah Charles, St. Mary's University
Andres Vega, St. Mary's University

Files

Contributor

Heather Hill; Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Keywords

Otters; Memory; ManyOtters; Collaborative research

Description

The study of long-term memory and the cognitive abilities of otters is not extensively documented. This research consisted of the use of foraging puzzles, which are different containers with food inside such as fish, squid, and oysters. This research project, named ManyOtters, takes inspiration from the foraging puzzle techniques exhibited in separate studies (e.g., Saliveros et al., 2022; Ladds et al. 2017). Based on the studies, foraging puzzles have shown to draw engagement for several otter species. The species focused on in this study were Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) and African spotted-necked otters (Hydrictis maculicollis) housed at SeaWorld San Antonio (San Antonio, TX). The goal of the study was to assess if otters solved novel puzzles faster the second time the puzzle was given 8 weeks later.

Format

pdf

Size

1 page

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.