Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 2005 |
Authors: | Beier, LR, Lewis, SB, Flynn, RW, Pendleton, G, Schumacher, TV |
Journal: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
Volume: | 33 |
Date Published: | 2005 |
ISBN Number: | 00917648 |
Keywords: | Canis lupus, Ursus arctos |
Abstract: | Use of genetic marks to identify individuals and generate population estimates using mark-recapture methodologies has become increasingly common. Recently, brown bear (Ursus arctos) population estimates have been made using DNA isolated from hair follicles as the mark, obtaining hair with a barbed-wire enclosure around a scent lure. While this method has been successfully used in low-density populations, it would be difficult to use in areas with dense concentrations of bears because of the high probability of collecting hair from multiple bears at a single site during a single trap session. We designed and evaluated a single-catch snare to collect bear hair in a dense brown bear population during late summer. We hung snares, modeled after a wolf (Canis lupus) neck snare, on bear trails along streams where bears congregated to feed on spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). During 2 years 1,000 snares were tripped and 455 contained bear hair. We determined genotypes from 309 hair samples collected. Our single-catch hair snares successfully captured hair, usually with visible follicles, from many bears without using a lure. Our snares were quick and easy to set, so we could replace snares containing hair in the field and remove hair later in a clean area to avoid contamination. Additionally, we could easily move snares, so we could place many snares over a single reach of stream or on several streams. |
URL: | http://www.jstor.org/stable/3785109 |
A Single-Catch Snare to Collect Brown Bear Hair for Genetic Mark-Recapture Studies
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