Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Tool-using sea otters not genetically tied
Otter
Sea otters often use tools like rocks or other hard objects to crack into their meals.

Study find sea otters may have been using tools for thousand of years

A study by US researchers has revealed that tool use by sea otters is universal and has little to do with family connections.

Previous research found that a group of tool-using dolphins in the Indio-Pacific shared a common genetic lineage.

But a new paper, published in Biology Letters, suggests that tool-using sea otters are not necessarily related.

“Sea otters and bottlenose dolphins both use tools and they are ecologically similar, so we thought they might have a similar genetic pattern,” said Katherine Ralls, lead author of the paper and scientist at the Smithsonian Conservation and Research centre, Virginia.

“Surprisingly, what we discovered is that sea otters that most frequently use tools are no more related to each other than to the population as a whole.”

Although not all individuals in a population use tools, sea otters often use tools like rocks or other hard objects to crack into their meals.

In the study, scientists observed individual otters using tools for at least 40 per cent of captured prey. They also analysed the genetic information collected from individual sea otters on the coast of California between 2000 and 2014.

“DNA analysis is critical to understanding our natural world and our world’s natural history, in this case helping us to get a better grasp on the little-known world of tool use in marine animals,” said co-author Nancy Rotzel McInerney.

According to the study’s authors, the difference between sea otters and dolphins might be how long the species has used tools.

It is thought that dolphins began utilising rocks, snails and crabs some 200 years ago. But researchers believe sea otters may have started using tools many thousands, or even millions, of years ago.

The team now aims to confirm how long they have been using tools by examining fossil sea otters for physical indicators of tool use.

Image (C) Jessica Fujii/Monterey Bay Aquarium

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.