Noninvasive Identification of Herpetofauna: Pairing Conservation Dogs and Genetic Analysis |
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Authors: | Mark J. Statham Deborah A. Woollett Susan Fresquez Jerene Pfeiffer Jonathan Richmond Alice Whitelaw Ngaio L. Richards Michael F. Westphal Benjamin N. Sacks |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-8744 USA;2. Working Dogs for Conservation, P.O. Box 280, Bozeman, MT, 59771 USA;3. Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-8744 USA;4. Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, One Shields Avenue/Old Davis Road, Davis, CA, 95616-8744 USA;5. U.S. Geological Survey, 4165 Spruance Rd. Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92101 USA;6. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Central Coast Field Office, Marina, CA, 93933 USA |
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Abstract: | Noninvasive fecal sampling combined with genetic analysis is a technique allowing the study of elusive or otherwise difficult to monitor species without the need for direct contact. Although this method is widely used in birds and mammals, it has never been successfully applied on a large scale in reptiles. The blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila) is an endangered species endemic to the San Joaquin Desert, California, USA. Presently, acquiring data on the species for research and management involves more traditional methods such as live capture or visual surveys, the latter of which are required for regulatory monitoring in accordance with wildlife agency protocols. We used an approach for gathering additional information that combines conservation detection dogs trained to locate blunt-nosed leopard lizard scat samples with genetic analysis for identifying and distinguishing among sympatric lizard species. We developed 2 polymerase chain reaction assays that produce fluorescently labelled amplicons of species-specific fragment length for 6 lizard species in the study area. Using these assays, we genetically identified to species 78% (255 of 327) of samples collected by dog-handler teams across 4 years. The majority of the genetically identified samples (82.4%; 210 of 255) were confirmed as originating from blunt-nosed leopard lizards. Although an assessment of the viability of detection dogs in regulatory monitoring efforts is required, our ability to recover usable DNA and to differentiate among a diverse group of lizards highlights the broad potential of our methodology for noninvasive sampling in reptiles. © 2019 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society. |
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Keywords: | blunt-nosed leopard lizard conservation detection dog Gambelia sila genetic analysis population monitoring reptile San Joaquin Desert scat species identification western whiptail lizard |
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