{rfName}
Ec

Indexed in

License and use

Icono OpenAccess

Citations

2

Altmetrics

Grant support

This research was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects PID2019103936GB-C21 and PID2019-103936GB-C22). Alejandra M. Arroyo held a "pre-graduate" grant from the USPCEU University (Spain).

Analysis of institutional authors

Cruz, AlejandraAuthorLantero, EstherAuthorAlmeida, DavidCorresponding Author

Share

September 22, 2022
Publications
>
Article
Sí

Ecological role of the Eurasian otter, Lutra lutra (Mustelidae, Carnivora) as a seed dispersal species for riparian vegetation in Iberian fresh waters

Publicated to:Journal Of Vertebrate Biology. 71 (22037): 22037- - 2022-09-07 71(22037), DOI: 10.25225/jvb.22037

Authors: Latorre, Dani; Merino-Aguirre, Raquel; Cruz, Alejandra; Lantero, Esther; Arroyo, Alejandra M; Fletcher, David H; Almeida, David

Affiliations

UK Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, Environm Ctr Wales, Gwynedd, Wales - Author
Univ Complutense Madrid, Dept Ecol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Girona, Inst Aquat Ecol, GRECO, Girona, Spain - Author
Univ San Pablo CEU, Dept Basic Med Sci, Sch Med, CEU Univ,Urbanizac Monteprincipe, Boadilla Del Monte, Spain - Author

Abstract

Endozoochory is a mutualistic interaction between plants and animals. Such a relationship has rarely been examined in the Eurasian otter Lutra lutra. This study aimed to assess the use and electivity of fruit by this carnivore, along with the viability of ingested seeds. Otter spraints and fruit were collected from the River Bullaque (Guadiana River basin, central Spain) in June and September 2018-2019. A high occurrence of fruit (> 40%) was found in spraints during September. Otters ingested fruit in June from only one plant species: Iberian bushweed Flueggea tinctoria (Phyllanthaceae); whereas seeds ingested in September belonged to four plant species: apple mint Mentha suaveolens (Lamiaceae), common hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, dog rose Rosa canina and elmleaf blackberry Rubus ulmifolius (three Rosaceae species). According to the environmental availability, otters displayed avoidance for mint and rose, neutral selection for hawthorn and preference for blackberry. Germination was unsuccessful for mint seeds, whereas germination was the highest for blackberry (37%; 49% for blackbird Turdus merula, a well-known frugivorous species). Otters appear to display an ecological role as seed dispersers for riparian vegetation in Iberian fresh waters. These findings provide insights into this endozoochorous co-evolution between plants and Carnivora.

Keywords

DietDietary traitsEndozoochoryFlow regulationFrugivoryGerminabilityGerminationHabitatMammalsPreySpraint analysisStreams

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal Of Vertebrate Biology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 70/177, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Zoology. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría Animal Science and Zoology.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-07-16:

  • WoS: 1
  • Scopus: 1

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 20.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 18 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 2.35.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (ALMEIDA REAL, DAVID).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been ALMEIDA REAL, DAVID.