Thursday, June 18,
2009
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today a major
breakthrough in the science of saving tigers: high-tech DNA fecal
sampling.
According to the study, researchers will be able to accurately
count and assess tiger populations by identifying individual
animals from the unique DNA signature found in their dung. In the
past, DNA was collected from blood or tissue samples from tigers
that were darted and sedated. The authors say this new non-invasive
technique represents a powerful new tool for measuring the success
of future conservation efforts.
The study appears in the June 16th edition of the journal
Biological Conservation. Authors of the study include: Samrat
Mondol of the National Centre for Biological Sciences; K. Ullas
Karanth, N. Samba Kumar, and Arjun M. Gopalaswamy of the Wildlife
Conservation Society and Centre for Wildlife Studies; and Anish
Andheria and Uma Ramakrishnan, also of the National Centre for
Biological Sciences.
"This study is a breakthrough in the science of counting tiger
numbers, which is a key yardstick for measuring conservation
success," said noted tiger scientist Dr. Ullas Karanth of the
Wildlife Conservation Society. "The technique will allow
researchers to establish baseline numbers on tiger populations in
places where they have never been able to accurately count them
before."
The study took place in India's Bandipur Reserve in Karnataka, a
longterm WCS research site in the Western Ghats that supports a
high abundance of tigers. Researchers collected 58 tiger scats
following rigorous protocols, then identified individual animals
through their DNA. Tiger populations were then estimated using
sophisticated computer models. These results were validated against
camera trap data, where individual tigers are photographed
automatically and identified by their unique stripe pattern.
Camera-trapping is considered the gold standard in tiger population
estimation, but is impractical in several areas where tiger
densities are low or field conditions too rugged.
"We see genetic sampling as a valuable additional tool for
estimating tiger abundance in places like the Russian Far East,
Sunderban mangrove swamps and dense rainforests of Southeast Asia
where camera trapping might be impractical due to various
environmental and logistical constraints," said Karanth.
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Wildlife Conservation Society
Thanks to Wildlife Conservation
Society for this article.
