Grizzly Bear Scat App

[Splitbrow]

Neat opportunity worth looking into for this fall: http://www.grizzlyscatapp.ca/

Info sessions in Hinton and Edson this week as well as Drayton Valley and Rocky Mountain House next week.

Admin's could we sticky this? Info sheet attached to this post.



From the website:

Non-invasive approaches to determine population size and monitor population trend are essential for grizzly bear recovery in Alberta. Current grizzly bear DNA inventories (barb wire hair snags) tend to be expensive and difficult to implement across large areas. In Scandinavia, bear managers advocate the use of hunter volunteers to collect scat DNA samples as a model for cost-effective bear inventory and monitoring. This approach has a distinct advantage in that it offers a robust way to assess populations and trends across large geographic areas with reduced costs, and the added benefit of engaging citizens and stakeholder groups in the collection of scientific data that is used to make management decisions. Recently, the Foothills Research Institute Grizzly Bear Program (fRI GBP) and our international collaborators in Scandinavia have made significant advancements in extracting DNA from Alberta grizzly bear scat. With this exciting development we are ready to implement a pilot project that will assess the feasibility of using scat DNA and citizen science to determine population size, abundance, and distribution of grizzly bears in Bear Management Area (BMA) 3 (see maps below). This year, the fRI GBP is also conducting a repeat of the 2004 DNA population inventory in BMA 3 using barb wire hair collection techniques. This presents a unique opportunity to test and compare the results of the scat DNA inventory against the more traditional hair DNA inventory.

[Matt L.]

That's interesting. Got me intrigued now, have to see if I can make it to any of those info sessions.

[Grizzly Adams]

Hair ain't working, so we're gonna try **** ?

Grizz

[58thecat]

Here we go...

[Splitbrow]

Originally Posted by Matt L.

That's interesting. Got me intrigued now, have to see if I can make it to any of those info sessions.

Hopefully you can make it out (and bring your friends). This is an excellent opportunity for citizen scientists and conservation minded outdoorsmen and women to contribute directly to grizzly bear research and recovery. The scat collection work done in Sweden and their recovery efforts to date are a testament to that. They now support an annual harvest after populations recovered from a few hundred bears to a few thousand.

[Matt L.]

The very reason I'm interested. The Scandinavians did amazing work with their bear recovery.

[Whiskey Wish]

I did my part back in April and submitted pictures, tracks and hair samples from a male grizzly. I told the nice young lady that came out from Hinton that if she wanted scat she could feel free to enter the very thick spruce and tamarack where we knew the bear was and collect it herself....lol She declined.

Does collected bear scat "deteriorate" and need to be preserved in any way or can I just scoop it into a baggie (extra large I assume) into my jacket pocket??

Sorry, can't make it to Hinton as I am behind on work.
Regards,
Dave

[Splitbrow]

Nice work Whiskey! Likely one of the Foothills Research Institute researchers. There are 20+ working in pilot area this year

There will actually be collection depots setup in Hinton, Edson, Drayton Valley, and Rocky Mountain House (exact locations within these communities to be determined over the coming weeks). Once the apps are ready citizen scientists will need to pick up a small sample collection kit from a depot. The kits contain some rubber gloves and small vials for collecting the scat (we only need a small amount about the size of your pinky finger nail). The vials contain some desiccant and each vial is labelled with a unique bar code and ID that is scanned via the smartphone app when the sample is collected. Filled vials then need to be dropped back off at the nearest collection depot.

Fall samples are best for a variety of reasons including higher DNA amplification rates and the freeze/thaw cycle which preserves the scat.

If you can't get to a collection depot prior to heading out we can arrange to get you a sample kit.

For those who don't have a smartphone we have an alternative program in place so you can still participate. http://www.grizzlyscatapp.ca/#No-Phone

[gatorhunter]

It's the scats that will come from Medicine Hat, Lloyminster and maybe even Saskatchewan that I can't wait to see. You know darn well that they will show up.

[Splitbrow]

The app logs location, time, etc. at the time of collection (when the vial is scanned)... so hopefully we don't get too many folks driving up to the pilot area with scat from Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, and Saskatchewan

[J D]

For those that dream of an Alberta grizz season break out the pooper scooper

[Splitbrow]

Quick reminder that there is an info session in Hinton tonight at the Hinton Training Centre starting at 7:00pm. Tomorrow there is an info session in Edson at 7:00pm at the Provincial Building.

[Splitbrow]

[Splitbrow]

Looking forward to seeing Drayton Valley members at the info session tonight and Rocky Mountain House members at the info session tomorrow.

[Splitbrow]

Upcoming info session in Rocky Mountain House tonight. About the Grizzly Scat App (www.grizzlyscatapp.ca).

Rocky Mountain House
August 6th, 2014
7:00pm
Provincial Building
Room 125A

[Splitbrow]

Android App is ready and iOS is coming soon. Find the nearest collection depot on the website.

http://www.grizzlyscatapp.ca/

Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...yscatapp&hl=en

iOS App coming soon!