Wildlife Management, eDNA Surveillance, and Wetland Ecology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering environmental DNA surveillance, wetland ecosystem classification, waterfowl biology, and wildlife population estimation models.

Environmental DNA (eDNA)

Nuclear or mitochondrial DNA released by an organism into the environment (such as water or soil) that is collected and analyzed for non-invasive species surveillance, presence/absence investigation, and ecological management.

DNA Extraction Stages

The four sequential laboratory stages required to isolate genetic material from samples: disruption, lysis, removal of proteins and contaminants (often using proteinase K followed by salting-out, organic extraction, or solid-phase binding), and recovery of DNA via alcohol precipitation.

Deoxyribonucleotide Triphosphates (dNTPs)

The four nucleotides ($\text{dATP}$, $\text{dCTP}$, $\text{dGTP}$, and $\text{dTTP}$) that serve both as the chemical substrates for DNA polymerase and as the foundational raw materials to synthesize new DNA strands during PCR amplification.

Primer (PCR)

A short, single-stranded oligonucleotide sequence with an exposed $3'\text{-OH}$ group required for DNA synthesis, enabling DNA polymerase to initiate replication of each template strand because the enzyme cannot begin synthesis de novo.

Denaturation (PCR)

The initial step of a PCR thermal cycle where the solution is heated to $90\text{--}100^\circ\text{C}$ to break hydrogen bonds holding the double-stranded DNA molecule together, yielding two separate single strands.

Annealing (PCR)

The second step of a PCR thermal cycle where the mixture is rapidly cooled to $30\text{--}65^\circ\text{C}$ to allow short forward and reverse primers to bond specifically to their complementary target sequences.

Extension (PCR)

The third step of a PCR thermal cycle where the temperature is adjusted to $60\text{--}70^\circ\text{C}$, allowing DNA polymerase to bind to primers and incorporate dNTPs to synthesize complementary DNA strands.

Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR)

A refined PCR methodology that uses fluorescent dyes or probes and an optical sensing system to monitor accumulating DNA in real time, plotting fluorescence against cycle number to quantify template abundance against a standard curve without post-PCR electrophoresis.

Wetland

A transitional ecosystem linking land and water that possesses water at or near the soil surface either permanently or seasonally, defined by distinct hydrology, hydric saturated soils, and specialized water-adapted vegetation.

Hydric Soil

Soil that is saturated with water for a sufficient duration during the growing season to produce an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment, serving as one of the three primary diagnostic criteria of a wetland.

Skunk Cabbage

A native perennial wetland wildflower ($\text{Symplocarpus foetidus}$) that thrives in saturated, anaerobic muck soils and emerges in late winter by producing thermogenic, hooded purple-brown spathes.

Purple Pitcher Plant

A carnivorous wetland plant ($\text{Sarracenia purpurea}$) adapted to nutrient-poor bogs and fens, featuring hollow pitcher-shaped leaves filled with enzyme-rich water to capture and digest insect prey.

Wetland Bioassessment

The structured evaluation of a wetland's health to fulfill Clean Water Act objectives by detecting stressors (toxic metals, altered pH, nutrient loading, erosion) through surveys of vascular plants, macroinvertebrates, and vertebrates.

North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP)

An international partnership established in $1986$ among the United States, Canada, and Mexico that coordinates continental waterfowl and wetland conservation under the guiding philosophy 'think continentally, integrate locally.'

Dabbling Duck

A surface-feeding waterfowl species characterized by high buoyancy, centrally positioned legs, unlobed hind toes, an ability to spring vertically into flight, and a typical foraging depth of $3\text{--}11\text{ inches}$.

Diving Duck

A waterfowl species that floats low in the water, has legs set far back on its body, possesses lobed hind toes, runs along the water surface to gain flight, and dives to depths greater than $13\text{ inches}$ to forage.

American Coot

A dark slate-gray wetland waterbird featuring a white bill, a white frontal shield, and uniquely lobed (non-webbed) toes adapted for both paddling through water and walking across floating vegetation.

Speculum

The distinct, often iridescent, brightly colored patch formed by the secondary wing feathers ($\text{S}1\text{--}\text{S}10$) on a duck's wing, utilized to identify species, sex, and age.

Duck Wing Bee

An annual USFWS Parts Collection Survey (PCS) session where wings and feathers collected by cooperating hunters are examined by biologists to identify species, sex, and age distributions of the seasonal harvest.

Rapid Assessment Program (RAP)

A quick biological survey technique used by conservation scientists to catalogue species presence or absence across multiple taxa to establish baseline biodiversity metrics and guide conservation priorities.

Indicator Species

An organism whose presence, population status, or physiological health reflects the overall environmental quality of an ecosystem (e.g., the Hellbender indicating water quality in Pennsylvania).

Sherman Trap

A folding, non-lethal box trap designed for live-capturing small mammals one individual at a time, known for portability but limited internal bedding space.

Longworth Trap

A non-lethal, portable live trap for small rodents consisting of a tunnel entrance and a separate nest box that provides increased bedding space for an animal during cold weather.

Ketchall Trap

A live-capture small mammal trap designed with an internal mechanism allowing multiple captures (up to $8$ animals per deployment) with abundant bedding space, though relatively bulky for remote field work.

Museum Special Trap

A lethal snap trap specifically designed for small mammal inventory that breaks the animal's spine while preserving the skull intact for museum curation and cranial measurements.

Victor Plunger Mole Trap

A heavy-duty, spring-loaded lethal trap designed with sharp downward-facing metal tines that plunge directly into active underground mole burrows when the subterranean trigger pan is disturbed.

Conibear Trap

A lethal body-gripping frame trap available in several standard dimensions, frequently positioned underwater or in runs to trap furbearers instantaneously.

SonoBat

A specialized acoustic monitoring software program used by wildlife managers to process, view, and analyze recorded ultrasonic bat echolocation call signatures for species identification.

Total Trap Nights (TN)

The standardized unit of camera trapping survey effort calculated as $\text{TN} = \sum(\text{cameras} \times \text{nights active}) - \text{lost trap nights}$, accounting for battery drain, memory depletion, and hardware malfunctions.

Relative Abundance Index (RAI)

A standardized measure of camera encounter frequency calculated as $\text{RAI} = (n \div \text{TN}) \times 100$, where $n$ is independent detections ($\ge 30\text{ min}$ apart) and $\text{TN}$ is total trap nights, expressing detections per $100\text{ trap nights}$.

Jacobson Camera Survey Method

A population estimation protocol for white-tailed deer that uniquely identifies bucks by antler characteristics to calculate a population factor ($P_f = B \div N_b$), which is subsequently multiplied across doe and fawn counts.

Lincoln-Petersen Estimator

A mark-recapture mathematical model for closed populations utilizing two sampling occasions and a single marking event, expressed as $N = (M \times C) \div R$.

Chapman Correction

A modified version of the Lincoln-Petersen estimator formulated as $N_c = \left[\frac{(M+1)(C+1)}{R+1}\right] - 1$, applied to prevent positive population bias when recaptures ($R$) are fewer than $10$.

Trap-Happy Bias

A behavioral violation of capture-recapture assumptions where bait-conditioned animals actively re-enter traps, artificially increasing $R$ and leading to an underestimate ($\downarrow$) of total population size.

Trap-Shy Bias

A behavioral violation of capture-recapture assumptions where capture stress causes marked individuals to avoid traps during subsequent sessions, artificially decreasing $R$ and resulting in an overestimate ($\uparrow$) of total population size.

Schnabel Method

A closed-population mark-recapture estimator extending Lincoln-Petersen logic across multiple consecutive sampling sessions ($2\text{--}n$), calculating population size via $N = \sum(C_i \times M_i^2) \div \sum(R_i \times M_i)$.

Jolly-Seber Model

An open-population capture-recapture model that accounts for births, deaths, immigration, and emigration between sessions to estimate total abundance ($N_t$), survival probability ($\phi_t$), and recruitment ($B$).