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Assessing habitat selection of the vulnerable Asian small-clawed otters in an anthropized riparian forest of eastern Bangladesh

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Abstract

The Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) is a globally vulnerable mesopredator endemic to South and Southeast Asia. This species is one of the least studied and smallest of all 13 otter species. The species is tolerant of least-aquatic conditions and reported across a wide range of habitats. Its ecology is not fully and methodically deciphered. Recently, new populations were discovered in eastern Bangladesh, the north-western border of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. Based on camera trapping carried out between January and July 2021, we investigated otter occupancy and spatiotemporal coexistence within an anthropized riparian mixed-evergreen forest. We assessed the influence of stream density, the distance between the camera-trap station and the nearest built-up area, and slope on otter habitat use; cumulated precipitation and Julian day on detection probability. Our results revealed a mammalian mesopredator release effect and heavy anthropogenic activities; however, otters and humans exhibited very low spatiotemporal overlap. Detections showed high temporal convergence with the nocturnal-crepuscular carnivore guild. Otter occupancy did not show any pattern when modelled with altitude or human density; detection neither decreased with the progression of the monsoon. Our findings suggest that otters can adapt their habitat use to human pressure in forests dominated by human activities, especially with dense stream networks. We encourage further research to gain a better understanding of the factors that could impact otter habitat preference, such as food abundance, undergrowth vegetation, human-induced forest fires, and fishing or poaching pressure. Understanding otters is a potential tool to step up research investment in anthropized forests.

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Data availability

The data used in this study can be found in the Supplementary information or is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful for the assistance provided by Sultan Ahmed, Md Tajul Islam, Chanchal Guala, and SM Shafi and the indigenous people of eastern Bangladesh as well as by the field personnel of the Bangladesh Forest Department.

Funding

The camera-trapping survey in northeast Bangladesh was supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Muntasir Akash & Tania Zakir

  2. Conservation Biology Group, Landscape Dynamics and Biodiversity programme, Forest Science and Technology Center of Catalonia (CTFC), Solsona, Spain

    Mariano J. Feldman

  3. Institut de Recherche Sur Les Forêts (IRF), Université du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, Canada

    Animesh Ghose

  4. Creative Conservation Alliance, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Animesh Ghose

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  1. Muntasir Akash
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Contributions

MA, AG, and MF conceived the study. MA led fieldwork. TZ organized and categorized the data. MA and MF analyzed the data and prepared the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Muntasir Akash.

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The camera-trapping survey was carried out as per the guidelines stated and approved by the Forest Department, Bangladesh.

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Akash, M., Feldman, M.J., Ghose, A. et al. Assessing habitat selection of the vulnerable Asian small-clawed otters in an anthropized riparian forest of eastern Bangladesh. Mamm Res 69, 101–114 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-023-00721-2

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