Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop - Carnivore ...

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Using DNA to Estimate Cougar Populations: a Collaborative Approach Richard A. Beausoleil, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 3515 State Highway 97A, Wenatchee, WA 98801, USA, beausrab@dfw.wa.gov Kenneth A. Warheit, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091, USA, warhekiw@dfw.wa.gov Wan-Ying Chang, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091, USA, changwyc@dfw.wa.gov Donald A. Martorello, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091, USA, martodam@dfw.wa.gov John D. Pierce, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091, USA, piercdjp@dfw.wa.gov ABSTRACT To better understand population dynamics of cougar, agency managers need long-term data sets collected using standardized methodologies. Short-term studies, while useful for management, are only “snapshots in time”, and provide little information about year-to-year variability or long-term status. Nonetheless, wildlife agencies are typically only able to conduct population estimation projects for 5 years or less because of expenses associated with current research methodologies. The objectives of this project were to: (1) acquire a scientific population estimate of cougars in northeast Washington; (2) test the efficacy and practicality of using DNA capture techniques to estimate cougar population size; (3) manage project costs to allow agencies interested in the technique to potentially conduct the research for decades. We used a capturerecovery methodology but instead of using conventional markers (i.e., radio collars, eartags and tattoos), we used DNA from tissue samples collected from treed cougar as our “capture” and DNA samples collected from harvested cougar as our “recovery”. We tested 5 biopsy dart types from 3 different manufacturers to collect the samples from treed cougars. For the “capture” sample, volunteer hound handlers were deployed throughout the project area between 01 November and 31 December (2003-current) to tree cougars using hounds and obtain a DNA sample via a biopsy dart and CO2 powered rifle. There was no physical handling required and once a sample was retrieved, the cougar was immediately left in the tree. Each hound handler was assigned to a specific portion of the project area and each was required to work 20-25 days within the allotted timeframe. The “recovery” phase immediately followed the “mark” period (01 January to 31 March) each year. During the hunting season agency personnel collected a tissue sample from all cougar mortalities statewide via a mandatory reporting system. DNA from both samples was analyzed using micro-satellite analysis. The DNA fingerprint analysis consisted of positively identifying 28-36 alleles (14-18 loci) for each tissue sample. Samples that did not produce a minimum of 14 loci were censored. We extracted the specified number of loci from 128 of 163 cougar samples resulting in identification of 100 individual cougars in the “capture” sessions. In the “recovery” sessions, over 62 tissue samples were collected and analyzed from within the project area. Sixteen of the 62 recoveries were previously “captured”. We used Program MARK to estimate population size, which resulted in an average within-year population estimate of 43 cougars (CI 34-58) or 0.87 (CI = 0.65-1.1) cougars per 100km 2 . Over the 4 years, it appears that the cougar population has declined. The cost of the DNA project in year 1 was $24,110. However because that included microsatellite plates (a one-time expense) Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop 160
and CO2 rifles and biopsy darts (both re-usable), the cost for the following 3 years was $10,885 per year. We believe the technique was successful at generating reliable, repeatable population size estimates at an affordable cost. As such, we believe it may be a useful technique for other cougar managers to utilize. Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop 161
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Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain L
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IN REMEMBRANCE There are giants who
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Distinguished Service Awards Mauric
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North Dakota Dorothy Fescke .......
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Evaluation of noninvasive genetic s
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Survival and ages of cougars harves
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Preface Chronology of Mountain Lion
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9 th Mtn. Lion Workshop Agenda Coug
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10:35-10:55 Estimating lion populat
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Movements of a female cougar on the
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State and Province Mountain Lion St
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160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Lions
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somewhat stable, though overall abu
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Idaho Cougar Ages 2002 2003 2004 20
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and that occurred in 1999 to a 13-y
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the approximately 15 other bills in
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for Project CAT; his primary focus
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Oregon Mountain Lion Status Report
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cougar seasons are 10 months long (
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Population Status and Trend Status
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California Mountain Lion Status Rep
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Number (i) The permit does not inva
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The steps in responding to a public
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during the attack, objects chewed o
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Montana Mountain Lion Status Report
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Red Desert basin. Mixed conifer and
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Table 1. Wyoming mountain lion mana
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(Fig. 4). Approximately 90% of all
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- Use of rubber bullets - Use of pe
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Literature Cited Anderson, C.R., JR
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Genetic Monitoring A recent study b
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Literature Cited Anderson, C. R., F
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Mule deer and bighorn sheep hunting
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In 1981, the Harvest Objective hunt
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more than 10% of Nevada’s 286,298
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Future Research The Department is c
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Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW
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Figure 1. Wildlife Management Units
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Figure 2. Cougar habitat in Utah. A
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Table 1. Utah cougar harvests, 1989
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while encouraging some hunter selec
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State’s management objectives (ma
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Stoner, D. C., W. Reith, M.L. Wolfe
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Figure 1. Colorado mountain lion Da
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Percent Q. Achievement & Success 65
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in which we request voluntary reduc
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Figure 6 is preliminary information
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humans, predation on pets, hobby st
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Arizona Mountain Lion Status Report
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Hunt Regulations Since the 8 th Mou
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The AZGFD supports the Cooperative
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South Dakota Mountain Lion Status R
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National Park [TRNP], Three Affilia
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Mountain lion carcasses were weighe
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Figure 2. Verified mountain lion lo
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In 2007, eleven mountain lions (n =
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increases or expansion. The overall
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Florida Mountain Lion Status Report
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interactions. Six categories of int
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cases (a large breed dog, miniature
Page 121 and 122: Interactions with Humans at the Urb
Page 123 and 124: Demographic and Landscape Influence
Page 125 and 126: Challenges and Opportunities Facing
Page 127 and 128: Caloosahatchee River will be depend
Page 129 and 130: Prospects for Mountain Lion Persist
Page 131 and 132: Habitat Use and Movements Proceedin
Page 133 and 134: Daily Movement Distances of Florida
Page 135 and 136: Refining the Use of GPS Telemetry C
Page 137 and 138: ural areas (hereafter, developed zo
Page 139 and 140: owned, of which over 50% were zoned
Page 141 and 142: Garmin ® (Garmin Ltd.) GPS units.
Page 143 and 144: the steplength and turnangle distri
Page 145 and 146: Table 1. Collar performance, time m
Page 147 and 148: depredation on goats newly introduc
Page 149 and 150: Paths derived from puma movement pa
Page 151 and 152: Table 6 and Fig. 3 display the perc
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Page 155 and 156: parcels) and non-preferred habitat
Page 157 and 158: CDFG 2000. California Department of
Page 159 and 160: Stralberg, D. and B. Williams. 2002
Page 161 and 162: Multi-Carnivore and Prey Interactio
Page 163 and 164: subadults, and kittens, the study p
Page 165 and 166: Cougar Home Range Shifts and Appare
Page 167 and 168: iomass, or directly when cougars ar
Page 169 and 170: Mountain Lion Movement Patterns in
Page 171: Genetics and Disease Proceedings of
Page 175 and 176: Estimation of the Bottleneck Size i
Page 177 and 178: A Preliminary Retrospective on the
Page 179 and 180: Population Estimation and Dynamics
Page 181 and 182: Dynamics and Demography of a Centra
Page 183 and 184: The Idaho Backcountry: Is it Still
Page 185 and 186: Study Areas and Methods We selected
Page 187 and 188: We calculated the proportion of res
Page 189 and 190: Warren Adult Female Sub Female Sub
Page 191 and 192: Harvest Rate Change Four long-term
Page 193 and 194: had increased to over 25% of the co
Page 195 and 196: editor. Proceedings of the Third Mo
Page 197 and 198: Censusing Pumas by Categorizing Phy
Page 199 and 200: Education and Social Issues Proceed
Page 201 and 202: The Land of the Living Dead Comes A
Page 203 and 204: Science and Education Working Toget
Page 205 and 206: Her dad was a cougar hunter, so Eve
Page 207 and 208: The Gray Whales’ Migration Journe
Page 209 and 210: 11) How do we manage real-time GPS
Page 211 and 212: harvest is not allowed. This reflec
Page 213 and 214: Key Concepts: Mountain Lion Managem
Page 215 and 216: Dispersal Movements of Subadult Cou
Page 217 and 218: Cougar Management Protocols: a Surv
Page 219 and 220: Response percent Response percent 1
Page 221 and 222: Table 2. Cougar population status b
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Table 5. Responses to what informat
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Rating average 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.
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Throughout the US and Canada, appro
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Percent Percent 100 90 80 70 60 50
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Table 8. Agency responses to what c
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the incident rated highest (67%). O
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Brochures/pamphlets/factsheets News
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In terms of education and outreach
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Population Status A vital prerequis
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agencies towards a standardized lan
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Literature Cited Anderson, C. R., a
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6) How does your agency solicit non
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19a) Hunting information Number of
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Game Warden/Conservation Officer Pr
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Cougars are not relocated when invo
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Other (explain) 45) What approaches
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Poster Session Proceedings of the N
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Generating an Index of Relative Abu
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Movements of a Female Cougar on the
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Survival and Ages of Cougars Harves
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Intra-specific Variation in Cougar
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Cougars in British Columbia: Conser
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Cougar-Induced Vigilance in Ungulat
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List of Participants First Name Las
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First Name Last Name Affiliation Ci
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First Name Last Name Affiliation Ci
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