On behalf of my co-authors, I am excited to share our recent publication.

Riordan, K., Dean, A. E., Adema, P., Thometz, N. M., Batac, F. I., & Liwanag, 
H. E. M. (2023). Ontogenetic changes in southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris 
nereis) fur morphology. Journal of Morphology, 284, e21624.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21624

Abstract

Many animals exhibit morphological changes across ontogeny associated with 
adaptations to their environment. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the densest 
fur of any animal, which is composed of guard hairs, intermediate hairs, and 
underhairs. Sea otters live in cold water environments, and their fur traps a 
layer of air to remain properly insulated, due to morphological adaptations 
that allow the hairs to trap air when submerged. When a sea otter is born, it 
has a natal pelage which it will eventually molt and replace with a pelt 
resembling the adult pelage. Past studies have investigated the morphology and 
hair density of adult sea otter fur, but these characteristics have not been 
measured for other age classes, including for the natal pelage. This study 
quantified ontogenetic changes in hair morphology of southern sea otter (E. 
lutris nereis) pelts. We measured guard hair length and circularity, shape of 
cuticular scales on guard hairs and underhairs, and overall hair density for 
sea otter pelts across six age classes: neonate (<1 month), small pup (1–2 
months), large pup (3–5 months), juvenile (6 months–1 year), subadult (1–3 
years), and adult (4–9 years). Neonate and small pup pelts had significantly 
longer guard hairs than older age classes. Natal pelage guard hairs were 
similarly shaped but smaller in diameter than adult guard hairs. Hairs of the 
natal pelage had similar cuticular scale patterns as adult hairs, indicating 
the importance of this structure for the function of the fur. Natal pelage had 
a lower hair density than the pelage of older age classes, with the adult 
pelage exhibiting the highest hair density. Overall, the morphological 
differences between natal and adult pelage in sea otters suggest functional 
differences that may make sea otter pups more vulnerable to heat loss.

The article can be found here:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmor.21624

Kind regards,
Kate Riordan


Kate Riordan
she/her/hers
M.S. in Biological Sciences
California Polytechnic State University SLO
krior...@calpoly.edu


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