Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
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Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Home | About Us | Science | Product Library | News & Events | Staff | Students | Partners | Contact Us
Katherine C. Kendall, USGS Glacier Field Station, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, MT 59936-0128 Email: kkendall@usgs.gov
Lisette Waits, Fish and Wildlife Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1136. Email: lwaits@uidaho.edu
No reliable information existed on grizzly or black bear population status in Glacier National Park and the surrounding ecosystem. Recent advances in genetic technology allow us to identify the species, sex, and individual of a bear via DNA extracted from hair and feces without handling the bear itself. We analyzed DNA from bear sign collected along established trails and from a grid of systematically positioned hair traps. The number of individuals and species identified from survey routes yielded minimum counts and a baseline index of population size. Bears identified from hair trap and sign survey collections were used in mark-recapture models to estimate the density of the grizzly bear population in the greater Glacier National Park area. The DNA profiles are also used to assess the degree of genetic variation, relatedness, and structure of the population.
Greater Glacier Grizzly Bear DNA Project (1997-2002): The Grizzly Bear Project objective was to determine a baseline population estimate for grizzly bears in the Greater Glacier Ecosystem. For more information on the Greater Glacier Grizzly Bear DNA Project
Greater Glacier Black Bear DNA Project (1997-2002): The Black Bear Project objective was to determine a baseline population estimate for black bears in the Greater Glacier Ecosystem using the black bear samples collected during the Grizzly Bear Project. For more information on the Greater Glacier Black Bear DNA Project
grizzly bear, black bear, DNA finger printing, mark-recapture, wildlife, population, landscape scale, conservation genetics, feces, hair, micosatellites, polymerase chain reaction, Ursus arctos, Ursus americanus, hair snag, genetics, Blackfoot Nation, Flathead National Forest, Waterton Lakes National Park, Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem
Greater Glacier National Park Area, Montana