The marine otter (Lontra felina, chungungo) is Endangered on the IUCN Red List and En Peligro under Chile's RCE, yet its distribution along the central coast, between Valparaiso and Concepcion (Biobio), remains largely undocumented.
This project will survey 8 to 10 coastal sites using passive eDNA samplers (PEDS), a species-specific qPCR assay developed for this project, hydrodynamic particle backtracking to interpret detections, and community interviews to integrate local ecological knowledge.
The project runs January to November 2026, in collaboration with Fundacion Lontra. It is supported by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.