Estimating Population Size of Grizzly Bears Using Hair Capture, DNA Profiling, and Mark-Recapture Analysis

Mowat, Garth; Strobeck, Curtis

doi:10.2307/3802989

Cited by 243 publications

(204 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

202

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The resulting sample intensity was approximately 50% of the bears living in our study areas. We know this because population estimates were carried out in all six areas (Wielgus et al 1994;Mowat & Strobeck 2000;Boulanger 2001;M. Proctor, unpublished data;W.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic analysis reveals demographic fragmentation of grizzly bears yielding vulnerably small populations

et al. 2005

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecosystem conservation requires the presence of native carnivores, yet in North America, the distributions of many larger carnivores have contracted. Large carnivores live at low densities and require large areas to thrive at the population level. Therefore, if human-dominated landscapes fragment remaining carnivore populations, small and demographically vulnerable populations may result. Grizzly bear range contraction in the conterminous USA has left four fragmented populations, three of which remain along the Canada-USA border. A tenet of grizzly bear conservation is that the viability of these populations requires demographic linkage (i.e. inter-population movement of both sexes) to Canadian bears. Using individualbased genetic analysis, our results suggest this demographic connection has been severed across their entire range in southern Canada by a highway and associated settlements, limiting female and reducing male movement. Two resulting populations are vulnerably small (%100 animals) and one of these is completely isolated. Our results suggest that these trans-border bear populations may be more threatened than previously thought and that conservation efforts must expand to include international connectivity management. They also demonstrate the ability of genetic analysis to detect gender-specific demographic population fragmentation in recently disturbed systems, a traditionally intractable yet increasingly important ecological measurement worldwide.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic analysis reveals demographic fragmentation of grizzly bears yielding vulnerably small populations

et al. 2005

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Movements among study areas across years are common however movements between individual simultaneous inventories are not common. During inventories in SW Alberta, the Elk and Flathead Valleys during 1997 only 2 male bears were detected on both sides of the continental divide (Mowat and Strobeck 2000). Similarly, in an inventory that spanned the South Rockies in Alberta and the Flathead Valley in BC during 2007, only 6 male bears were detected on both sides of the divide ).…”

Section: Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Factors influencing detection of grizzly bears at genetic sampling sites

Lamb

Walsh

Mowat

2016

Ursus

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Gagneux et al [51] found an overall genotyping error rate of 37% among shed chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) hairs but reduced error rate to < 0.01% using plucked hairs. Using one to four hair bulbs, genotype failure occurred among 37.3% of grizzly bear samples (Ursus arctos) [52] and 8% of black bear (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bear samples [53]. Goossens et al [45] examined the relationship between genetic identification failure and the number of roots in a sample and found failure rate declined as the number of roots in the sample increased.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noninvasive alternatives for DNA collection from threatened rodents

Green¹,

Ting²,

Manjerovic³

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many rodent species are currently under conservation threat. However, population monitoring and status assessment are extremely challenging because of small body size, low abundance and elusive behavior of rodents. Furthermore, invasive methods of capture and tissue collection commonly used to address such studies can induce an unacceptable amount of stress to sensitive species. As a result, noninvasive techniques have become more widely used, but relatively few studies have applied noninvasive techniques to rodents. Here we present two noninvasive alternatives for the collection of DNA from Franklin's ground squirrels (Poliocitellus franklinii). We compared the quantity, purity and degradation of DNA extracted from plucked hair and fecal pellets to tail snip tissues. We recovered more DNA from tail snips than either plucked hair or fecal pellets. Both hair and fecal pellets recovered DNA with purity ratios similar to tail snips. As expected, DNA recovered from fecal pellets exhibited a high degree of degradation compared to hair and tail tissues. Careful planning of field and laboratory protocols is therefore necessary to compensate for challenges associated with noninvasive tissue types. While there is no tissue that can universally be applied to all research projects, both hair and feces are viable alternatives to traditional invasive procedures and can be applied to threatened and endangered rodent species.

show abstract

Estimating Population Size of Grizzly Bears Using Hair Capture, DNA Profiling, and Mark-Recapture Analysis

Cited by 243 publications

References 20 publications

Genetic analysis reveals demographic fragmentation of grizzly bears yielding vulnerably small populations

Genetic analysis reveals demographic fragmentation of grizzly bears yielding vulnerably small populations

Factors influencing detection of grizzly bears at genetic sampling sites

Noninvasive alternatives for DNA collection from threatened rodents

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About