The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling
Noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) is commonly used to study elusive or rare species where direct observation or capture is difficult. Little attention has been paid to the potential effects of observer bias while collecting noninvasive genetic samples in the field, however. Over a period of 7 years...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:7069729 2023-05-15T15:50:37+02:00 The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling Soller, Jillian M. Ausband, David E. Szykman Gunther, Micaela 2020-03-13 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7069729/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32168506 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7069729/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32168506 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 © 2020 Soller et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Research Article Text 2020 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 2020-03-29T01:23:45Z Noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) is commonly used to study elusive or rare species where direct observation or capture is difficult. Little attention has been paid to the potential effects of observer bias while collecting noninvasive genetic samples in the field, however. Over a period of 7 years, we examined whether different observers (n = 58) and observer experience influenced detection, amplification rates, and correct species identification of 4,836 gray wolf (Canis lupus) fecal samples collected in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, USA and southwestern Alberta, Canada (2008–2014). We compared new observers (n = 33) to experienced observers (n = 25) and hypothesized experience level would increase the overall success of using NGS techniques in the wild. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found that new individuals were better than experienced observers at detecting and collecting wolf scats and correctly identifying wolf scats from other sympatric carnivores present in the study areas. While adequate training of new observers is crucial for the successful use of NGS techniques, attention should also be directed to experienced observers. Observer experience could be a curse because of their potential effects on NGS data quality arising from fatigue, boredom or other factors. The ultimate benefit of an observer to a project is a combination of factors (i.e., field savvy, local knowledge), but project investigators should be aware of the potential negative effects of experience on NGS sampling. Text Canis lupus gray wolf PubMed Central (PMC) Canada PLOS ONE 15 3 e0229762 |
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Research Article Soller, Jillian M. Ausband, David E. Szykman Gunther, Micaela The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
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Noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) is commonly used to study elusive or rare species where direct observation or capture is difficult. Little attention has been paid to the potential effects of observer bias while collecting noninvasive genetic samples in the field, however. Over a period of 7 years, we examined whether different observers (n = 58) and observer experience influenced detection, amplification rates, and correct species identification of 4,836 gray wolf (Canis lupus) fecal samples collected in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, USA and southwestern Alberta, Canada (2008–2014). We compared new observers (n = 33) to experienced observers (n = 25) and hypothesized experience level would increase the overall success of using NGS techniques in the wild. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found that new individuals were better than experienced observers at detecting and collecting wolf scats and correctly identifying wolf scats from other sympatric carnivores present in the study areas. While adequate training of new observers is crucial for the successful use of NGS techniques, attention should also be directed to experienced observers. Observer experience could be a curse because of their potential effects on NGS data quality arising from fatigue, boredom or other factors. The ultimate benefit of an observer to a project is a combination of factors (i.e., field savvy, local knowledge), but project investigators should be aware of the potential negative effects of experience on NGS sampling. |
format |
Text |
author |
Soller, Jillian M. Ausband, David E. Szykman Gunther, Micaela |
author_facet |
Soller, Jillian M. Ausband, David E. Szykman Gunther, Micaela |
author_sort |
Soller, Jillian M. |
title |
The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
title_short |
The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
title_full |
The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
title_fullStr |
The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
title_full_unstemmed |
The curse of observer experience: Error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
title_sort |
curse of observer experience: error in noninvasive genetic sampling |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7069729/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32168506 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 |
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Canada |
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Canada |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
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Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7069729/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32168506 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 |
op_rights |
© 2020 Soller et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229762 |
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