Non-invasive monitoring of carnivores: advancing methodology and ecological knowledge

Carnivores are among the most iconic and controversial wildlife species. Some carnivores also have tremendous ecological impacts, but their elusiveness and large home ranges make them difficult to study in the field. This is one reason why non-invasive methods are now popular and widely used for monitoring and studying carnivores in remote areas. Research project NFR 204202 focused on two such methods, genetic sampling and camera trapping. The main objectives fell into three categories: (1) advancing the field and analytical methods for non-invasive monitoring, (2) using these methods to study carnivore ecology, and (3) building capacity among project participants in the application of non-invasive ecological methods and the analysis of the results. The project was an international collaboration, with participants from Scandinavia, Pakistan, and France. Although the project officially ended in September 2014, the collaborations established during the project period will continue, with focus on further exploiting the data collected thus far and contributing additional methodological developments and ecological insights. NON-INVASIVE MONITORING OF RARE CARNIVORES IN PAKISTAN. During the 3-year project, we set 431 camera trap stations, spread over an area of nearly 10 000 square kilometers in our study region in the mountains of Northern Pakistan. We captured around 17 000 photos of 11 wild carnivore species, including the endangered snow leopard and the Himalayan brown bear. From the resulting photographic data, we have been able to extract information about species composition and distribution, activity patterns, interactions between species, abundance, and occupancy. In addition to camera trapping, we collected carnivore fecal samples throughout our study region. We focused on four species: the snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear, grey wolf, and red fox. Almost 800 samples from these species were subjected to genetic analysis, to identify species, gender, individual, and diet. The extraction of ecological information is extremely challenging when working with elusive species and sparse data. We therefore built models that allowed us to combine camera trapping and genetic data to estimate abundance and occupancy, making more effective use of the available data. The tremendous amount of photographic and genetic data we have collected during the 3-year study will continue to yield new insights into carnivore ecology in the future. Field protocols we developed for non-invasive monitoring of wildlife in mountainous areas will guide long-term monitoring in our study areas in the Himalayas and will be useful for investigators working elsewhere. NON-INVASIVE MONITORING OF BROWN BEARS IN SCANDINAVIA. During this part of the project, we focused on the development of analytical models for estimating brown bear population sizes from regular scat and hair collections conducted by both the Norwegian and Swedish governments. We used extensive datasets from the national monitoring programs to build the first spatially-explicit capture-recapture model for brown bear in Scandinavia. Because Norwegian management is based on the number of brown bear reproductions, we have focused the first application of the model on female brown bears detected in Norway from 2009 to 2013. Aside from the methodological innovation that this model represents, we have also explored an important concept: the bias introduced by trans-border movements of carnivores and other wildlife. The model can now be customized for estimating annual brown bear abundance throughout Norway and Sweden. CAPACITY BUILDING AND APPLIED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: The development of expertise in ecological methodology in Pakistan was an important objective of the project. During the 2011 and 2012 field seasons, field staff and volunteers from various non-profit organizations and natural resource management agencies received hands-on training in the use of camera traps for non-invasive monitoring of wildlife. In spring 2012, we organized a 1-week workshop in ecological data analysis and field methods for Pakistani students and wildlife professional. During spring 2013, results from camera trapping where presented at the International Zoological Congress in Islamabad. This was followed by a 3-day workshop on advanced statistical analysis. We produced two activity briefs, aimed at stakeholder and the general public, detailing various activities and results; further briefs are to come. The project has been represented in the Swedish-Norwegian Brown Bear Monitoring Working group during 2013, charged by the governments of Norway and Sweden with the evaluation of the Scandinavian brown bear national monitoring programs and the formulation of recommendations for continued monitoring. Insights into non-invasive monitoring of carnivores, gained during the project, have thus also been applied to inform policy.

Non-invasive genetic sampling entails the extraction of genetic material from hair, scat and other sources of DNA and subsequent identification of species and/or individuals. Current developments in non-invasive genetic sampling are bound to change the fu ture of wildlife monitoring. It is at this forefront of conservation research where the proposed project is to take place. Project goals include the implementation and improvement of advanced analytical and field methods, as well as basic research to deve lop new methods and fill ecological knowledge gaps in two regions, Scandinavia and the Himalayas. These geographically distinct components will complement each other in terms of methodological focus and ecological scope, and will be tied together through technical and analytical support from two research groups in France. The project's success is ensured through national and international collaboration with leading experts in wildlife monitoring, molecular analysis, and statistical modeling. Based on geog raphic and methodological distinctions, the project can be divided into 2 main parts, each consisting of 3 studies. In Part I, we will use substantial existing data sets on Scandinavian brown bears to explore, validate, and expand on the analysis of non-i nvasive genetic sampling data, with a focus on increasing the utility of capture-mark recapture models based on genetic captures. Part II of the project will take place in northern Pakistan, where we intend to field-test cutting-edge molecular methods ass ociated with non-invasive genetic sampling, including sequence-based species and individual ID, and genetic sampling from highly diluted sources of DNA (e.g. DNA found in tracks). This part of the project will center around one 2-month long field season i n each of the 3 years of the proposed project, and will also involve the use of camera traps to validate and complement non-invasive genetic monitoring.