Biome: Aquatic
Habitat: Rivers, Streams, Marshes, Lakes
Ecosystem: Estuary
Trophic Levels
Trophic levels represent where an organism stands in the food chain. There are 4 trophic levels: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer. A producer is an autotroph like plants, meaning they make their own food. A primary consumer is an herbivore, only eating producers. A secondary consumer feeds on primary consumers. Meanwhile, a tertiary consumer consumes secondary consumers.
A North American River Otter is a tertiary consumer. Meaning, it eats other animals but has few predators. River otters are the largest in the Mustelid family, leaving them with few predators. River otters eat crabs, fish, and small vertebrates.
Sources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_river_otter
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level
3.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/producer
4.http://0.static.wix.com/media/4ccc4f_378aeb5d7e2d3fc044a9072729072582.jpg_512
A North American River Otter is a tertiary consumer. Meaning, it eats other animals but has few predators. River otters are the largest in the Mustelid family, leaving them with few predators. River otters eat crabs, fish, and small vertebrates.
Sources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_river_otter
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level
3.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/producer
4.http://0.static.wix.com/media/4ccc4f_378aeb5d7e2d3fc044a9072729072582.jpg_512
Interspecific Interactions
Interspecific interactions occur with organisms from different species. The North American River Otter interacts with a fair amount of animals outside of its species. One being the mink. Since the otter and mink habitats overlap there is a fair amount of competition between the two species.
Intraspecific Interactions
An intraspecific interaction is one in between members of the same species. Although the North American river otter is fairly solitary interactions within the species still occur. River otters can occasionally have highly agressive relationships, with fights often ensuing. Another intraspecific interaction between the river otters is during mating season when they mate with each other.