RT Journal Article
T1 Human pressures constrain Eurasian otter occurrence in semiarid Northern Africa
A1 Calzada Samperio, Javier
A1 Clavero Pineda, Miguel
A1 Delibes Castro, Miguel
A1 Fernández, Néstor
AB Populations inhabiting the periphery of species distribution ranges may experience suboptimal environmental conditions and higher vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures. Disentangling the role of natural and human-related factors and the relationships among them in these marginal areas is thus key to understand and prevent species declines and range reductions. We analysed Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) occurrence patterns in relation to anthropogenic pressures and natural environmental gradients in Morocco, an area constituting the arid limit of the species’ global range. The probability of otter occurrence was higher as terrain ruggedness increased and at intermediate elevations, and lower in catchments exposed to higher anthropogenic pressures. Otters tended to be rare at higher elevations and in areas with less annual precipitation, probably as a result of trophic resource limitations and large water flow fluctuations, respectively. A combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, both at drainage area and local scales, was needed to understand the current occurrence of the species. Our study highlights a need for urgent action to conserve the Eurasian otter in northern Africa, where freshwater ecosystems and their associated biodiversity are threatened by rapid human development in areas of marginal climatic conditions. 
PB Springer
SN 0960-3115
SN 1572-9710 (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20900
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/20900
LA eng
NO Calzada, J., Clavero, M., Delibes, M., & Fernández, N. (2022). Human pressures constrain Eurasian otter occurrence in semiarid Northern Africa. In Biodiversity and Conservation. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02405-w
NO We acknowledge the help of our colleagues in conducting the field sampling: BegoñaAdrados, Seila Alvaré, Manuela González, Carlos Gutiérrez-Expósito, Miguel Jácome, Francisco Palomares,Carli Pérez, Eloy Revilla, Jacinto Román and Pablo Villalba, and the scientific advice of AbdeljebbarQninba and his help in processing the permits necessary to conduct the study. We thank three anonymousreferees for their constructive comments on an earlier manuscript. The picture of an otter used inFigure 4 was donated by Juan Matutano. Sampling permissions were obtained from the Haut Commissariataux Eaux et Forêts et a la Lutte contre la Désertification du Royaume du Maroc. Financial support wasreceived from Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC. N.F. acknowledges the support of iDiv funded by theGerman Research Foundation (DFG–FZT 118, 202548816). Funding for Open Access charge:  Universidad de Huelva / CBUA.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026