Food abundance, prey morphology, and diet specialization influence individual sea otter tool use

Jessica A Fujii, Katherine Ralls and M Tim Tinker

Behavioral Ecology, 2017, vol. 28, issue 5, 1206-1216

Abstract: Lay SummaryWhether sea otters use tools to dine depends on what’s for dinner. When calorie-rich food is plentiful, all otters eat the best foods and use tools only if hard-shelled prey like large clams are present. But when the menu includes less-desirable options including small, hard-shelled snails, only some otters eat snails and use tools to crack them. Similar factors may also drive tool use in other animals like crows or dolphins.

Keywords: dietary specialization; Enhydra lutris; food abundance; foraging behavior; sea otter; tool use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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