Principal Investigators: 
Michael A. Sawaya, Ph.D. (Sinopah Wildlife Research Associates)   

Background:
Noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) methods hold tremendous promise for inventorying and monitoring wildlife populations, but managers are often reluctant to embrace the relatively new methods because of concerns about sampling efficiency and DNA analysis costs.  Although NGS methods can identify individuals and sexes, they are labor intensive and relatively expensive compared to other methods.  The use of remote cameras in wildlife research has exploded over the past decade as better technology has become more available and affordable.  However, remote cameras cannot accurately identify individuals of many species and, thus, are unsuitable for estimating many population parameters.  Few studies have evaluated the benefits of using remote cameras in conjunction with NGS methods, even though there may be great benefits and potential to reduce long-term costs by combining methods.  In 2014, we initiated a multi-year study in Yellowstone National Park and on the MPG Ranch in Montana to evaluate the potential synergy between NGS methods and remote cameras.  For our evaluation, we focused on NGS methods for 3 species: rub tree surveys for black bears (Ursus americanus), latrine surveys for river otters (Lutra canadensis), and snow tracking for mountain lions (Puma concolor).  

Objectives:
1) investigate the feasibility of using cellular-enabled remote cameras to increase efficiency of NGS methods.
2) quantify the ability of cellular-enabled remote cameras to improve DNA amplification rates from hair and scat samples collected noninvasively.

Study Area:
Our study areas were located at MPG Ranch in western Montana (river otters) and the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming (shown here; cougars, black bears).

Results/Conclusions/Future Direction:
We completed the river otter portion of our study in spring 2017; our evaluation of using cell-cams for black bear and cougar population monitoring is ongoing.  To date, we have found that cellular-enabled remote cameras can improve sampling efficiency and specificity (i.e. target specific species, sexes, and individuals), along with increasing the quality and quantity of samples collected; however, their applicability is limited to areas with good cell coverage and more analysis is needed to know if they actually improve DNA amplification success rates.   

For more details, see our January 2018 progress report (PDF).