Fecal DNA, hormones and pellet morphometrics as a non-invasive method to estimate age-class: an application to wild populations of central mountain and boreal caribou

• Main Authors: Flasko, Amy, Manseau, Micheline, Mastromonaco, Gabriela, Bradley, Mark, Neufeld, Lalenia, Wilson, Paul
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2017
• Subjects: Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/76967; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjz-2016-0070

Determining age-structure of populations is a valuable parameter in wildlife management, but is often difficult to obtain. Here, we tested a non-invasive method via fecal DNA, hormones and pellet morphometrics to distinguish calf from adult in central mountain and boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou Gmelin, 1788) populations. Annual surveys of fall-sampled central mountain caribou were done in Jasper National Park, Alberta between 2006 and 2011 and winter-sampled boreal caribou were surveyed in the North Interlake area, Manitoba between 2004 and 2010. Samples were amplified at 10 microsatellite loci to identify unique individuals and capture histories were used to identify putative calves and adults. Fecal pellets were measured for length, width, depth, dry mass, and analyzed for progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone concentrations. Results showed significant differences in fecal pellet size between putative calves and adults for both sexes and populations/seasons. Progesterone concentration was significantly higher in Jasper/fall and North Interlake/winter adult females. Testosterone was significantly higher in Jasper/fall adult males. North Interlake/winter males exhibited no significant difference in hormone concentrations between age-classes. When applied to the entire Jasper dataset, 98% of females and 88% of males were assigned to an age-class. This study illustrates the possibilities of using non-invasive methods to determine an age-class in wild ungulate populations. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.