Wildlife Data Collection, Detection Techniques, and Management

Conservation Detection Dogs & 'Ake'ake Tracking in Hawaii

• Study Overview & Location:

  • Field surveys take place at the U.S. Army Garrison's Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) on Hawaii's Big Island, often under hot conditions (e.g., $80^\circ\text{F}$ in August).

  • The initiative is a collaborative effort between PTA Natural Resource staff, contractors, and wildlife experts from Colorado State University's Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML).

• Target Species Characteristics:

  • Common & Hawaiian Names: 'Ake'ake, also known as the band-rumped storm petrel.

  • Status: Small, endangered seabird.

  • Size: Approximately the size of an American robin.

  • Behavior: Nocturnal, spends the vast majority of its life at sea, returning to land exclusively to breed.

  • Burrow Dynamics:

    • Nests inside natural lava tubes and volcanic rock openings measuring approximately $10$ to $12\,\text{inches}$ high.

    • Passageways extend $3$ to $6\,\text{feet}$ deep, twisting and turning to shelter the birds from extreme weather elements and introduced predators.

    • Females lay a single egg along the subterranean passageway.

• Challenges in Detection:

  • Birds leave minimal sign upon entering or exiting burrows (no prolonged lingering at entrance, minimal visible guano or clear footprints).

  • Hard volcanic lava rock prevents print formation.

  • Volcanic lava retains extreme environmental heat, rendering thermal imaging technology ineffective because the entire landscape glows, obscuring animal heat signatures.

  • Peering into burrow openings is impossible due to the twisting, long passages and thousands of natural cracks.

• Technology & Detection Methodology:

  • Acoustic Recorders: Used to capture flight calls and establish general species presence, but incapable of pinpointing exact burrow locations.

  • Night Vision & Game Cameras: Deployed at candidate sites to capture visual confirmation of birds entering or exiting crevices.

  • Conservation Detection Dogs:

    • Introduced after a team member visited conservation colleagues in New Zealand in 2014.

    • Maka: The first detection dog brought to PTA; previously trained on Hawaiian goose (nēnē), bats, and other birds.

    • Scent Sourcing: Because no active burrows were known initially, washcloths were shipped to field teams on Maui who were capturing and banding seabirds. The birds were held in the cloths to transfer general seabird odor for dog scent training.

    • Historical Milestone: In 2015, combining dog scent leads with acoustic monitoring and night vision game cameras led to the first photograph of an 'ake'ake peeking out of a crevice—marking the first confirmed active burrow in the entire state of Hawaii. Only $6$ active burrows have been confirmed at PTA since 2015.

    • Slater: A brown-and-white working detection dog equipped with protective booties and a harness. Slater replaced the previous retired dog team in summer 2022, began scent training in July, located an active burrow on his very first field outing, and identified two additional potential burrow sites on his second outing.

• Management & Program Leadership:

  • Key Personnel:

    • Dr. Michelle Reynolds: Handler for detection dog Slater.

    • Rogelio Doratt: CEMML Wildlife Program Manager.

    • Lena Schnell: Biologist and Senior Project Manager for CEMML.

    • Lt. Col. Kevin Cronin: PTA Garrison Commander.

  • Threat Mitigation: Locating burrows allows managers to protect breeding colonies against invasive, introduced predators including cats, mongooses, rodents, and barn owls. Environmental division stewardship fulfills core military installation conservation mandates.

Foundations of Fisheries & Wildlife Management

• Core Management Triad:

  • Fisheries and wildlife management sits at the intersection of three key domains:

    1. Biota: Aquatic/terrestrial plants and animals.

    2. Habitat: Environmental conditions on land and in water.

    3. Humans: Recreational and commercial human users and expectations.

• Fisheries Management Principles:

  • Managing fish biology is straightforward; managing human expectations and recreational/commercial demands is the complex component of management.

  • Focus areas include managing the entire aquatic fishery ecosystem versus targeting select species.

  • Regulations are structured to manage total numbers of fish or size classes.

  • Fisheries managers generally measure and manage overall biomass rather than strictly counting individual organisms.

  • State Fish of Colorado: Greenback Cutthroat Trout (distinguished from Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Largemouth Bass).

• Primary Reference Text:

  • The Wildlife Techniques Manual ($8\text{th}$ Edition), edited by Nova J. Silvy (Volume 1: Research, Volume 2: Management).

Wildlife Data Collection: Core Questions and Decision Frameworks

• Fundamental Management Questions:

  • What do managers need to learn?

  • How will data or information be gathered?

  • What directional management action is required: Increase, Decrease, or Maintain?

  • Answering: Why? What? Where? Who? When? How? How much?

• Key Decision Considerations:

  • Level of Impact: Selecting methods that minimize stress or harm to individual animals and overall populations (invasive vs. non-invasive choices).

  • SAFETY: Absolute priority for animals, field research personnel, and local community members.

  • Habitat & Land Impact: Minimizing physical disruption to ecosystems during data collection.

  • Public Concerns & Perception: Managing public transparency, ethical standard compliance, and social acceptance.

  • Resource Constraints: Budget/cost, accessibility, land ownership/permissions, and partner organization coordination.

  • Temporal Factors: Seasonal constraints, day vs. night execution, and management urgency.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC)

• Mandate and Oversight:

  • IACUC boards exist for every institutional entity conducting vertebrate animal research.

  • Evaluate proposed scientific studies to confirm the genuine necessity of data collection.

  • Review and approve experimental methods to ensure they are ethical, humane, appropriate, and fully compliant with federal and local laws.

  • Strictly restricts unauthorized individuals from capturing, handling, or manipulating wild or captive vertebrates.

Specific Biological & Ecological Data Types

• Target Research Variables ("WHAT"):

  • Presence or absence of species within a geographic area.

  • Food habits, diet composition, and nutritional condition.

  • Total population size, density, birthrates, natural mortality, and harvest rates.

  • Genetic structure, sex ratios, and lineage.

  • Movement profiles: Dispersal patterns, seasonal migrations, home range size, and defended territory boundaries.

  • Specific macro- and micro-habitat requirements.

Demographics: Age Estimation & Growth Analysis

• Field Realities vs. Ideals:

  • Ideal Scenario: Tracking marked individuals throughout their entire natural life span (extremely difficult and resource-intensive in wild populations).

  • Practical Approach: Sampling representative cross-sections of the population to construct age distribution profiles and estimate survival by age class.

• Aging Mammals via Tooth Wear (Ungulate Model):

  • Dental Anatomy:

    • Enamel: The hard, white outer structural layer of the tooth.

    • Dentine: The darker, softer inner material revealed as enamel wears down.

  • Developmental Stages in Deer Jaws:

    • Fawn ($6\,\text{months}$): Permanent incisors actively emerging beneath temporary middle milk teeth; molars and premolars developing.

    • Sub-adult: Fawn jaw with permanent front teeth fully emerged but not yet settled into final alignment position.

    • Adult ($1.5\,\text{years}+$): All permanent incisors, premolars, and molars fully in place.

  • Wear Analysis: Age is estimated by evaluating the relative ratio of exposed dark dentine versus white enamel on the biting surfaces of molars ($\text{M1, M2, M3}$). Progressive wear increases dentine exposure.

Food Habits & Diet Analysis Techniques

• Scat Analysis:

  • Non-invasive or minimally invasive collection method.

  • Provides data on species identity, consumed food items, moisture levels, pathogen/disease presence, individual DNA, seasonal diet changes, and overall habitat conditions.

  • Requires standardized field guides (e.g., Mammal Scat of North America) to differentiate species (coyote, gray wolf, mountain lion, bobcat, deer, elk, bear, beaver, otter, skunk, etc.).

• Stomach Content Analysis:

  • Can be lethal or non-lethal (invasive).

  • Conducted on deceased specimens (e.g., stranded Minke Whale in Normandy, France) or harvested animals.

  • Reveals ingestion of harmful materials, such as microtrash found in necropsied California Condors.

  • Gastric Lavage: Non-lethal stomach pumping/flushing technique performed on live animals to wash out digestive contents for dietary analysis.

• Behavioral Diet Observation:

  • Non-invasive technique involving direct visual monitoring of foraging.

  • Includes performing bite counts on browsing herbivores.

  • Utilizes audio collars containing miniaturized microphones to record chewing and swallowing acoustics.

Non-Invasive Data Collection Techniques

• Overview of Non-Invasive Tools:

  • Direct visual observation.

  • Camera traps / Remote cameras.

  • Hair snares (for collecting hair samples for genetic and sex analysis).

  • Track plates.

  • Scat sampling (for DNA, hormone levels, and dietary profiling).

  • Acoustic monitoring and bioacoustics.

  • Doppler radar.

  • Environmental DNA (eDNA).

  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones).

• Track Plate Stations:

  • Consists of an aluminum track plate positioned flat on the ground, often sheltered between logs.

  • A soot/carbon layer is applied at the entry point, followed by adhesive-side-up shelf paper or contact paper, and a central bait source.

  • Animals walk across the soot, leaving precise carbon footprints on the sticky paper.

  • Effective for identifying presence and distinguishing species/individuals (e.g., Gray fox [Urocyon cinereoargenteus], Ringtail [Bassariscus astutus], and small mice).

• Acoustics & Bioacoustics:

  • Determines species presence, spatial location, population density estimates, and behavioral context.

  • Identifies specific call types: Territorial aggression, mating calls, distress vocalizations, and feeding acoustics.

• Doppler Radar:

  • Utilized at macro-scales (e.g., AeroEcoLab research) to track large-scale nocturnal bird and bat migrations through the airspace.

Invasive Capture Techniques

• Method Selection & Risk Assessment:

  • Every capture methodology carries distinct trade-offs between efficiency, financial cost, animal stress, and injury/mortality risk.

• Small- to Medium-Mammal Trapping:

  • Snap Traps: Traditional kill-style mouse/rat traps. Used primarily for pest/invasive species control. Lethal nature prevents tracking subsequent animal movement, migration, or home ranges.

  • Sherman Live Traps: Folding aluminum box traps used for live capture of small mammals (mice, voles, shrews). Essential for mark-recapture studies.

  • Havahart Traps: Wire-mesh cage live traps, operating similarly to Sherman traps but sized larger for medium-sized mammals (e.g., squirrels, foxes, raccoons).

• Herpetofauna (Reptile & Amphibian) Sampling:

  • Drift Fencing: Vertical canvas, plastic, or mesh barrier installed along the ground to intercept moving animals (turtles, skinks, geckos, salamanders, snakes) and direct them into pitfall buckets or funnel traps.

  • Arboreal Funnel Traps: Specialized mesh funnels attached to tree trunks to capture climbing tree snakes.

• Insect & Invertebrate Sampling Methods:

  • Aspirator: Suction device used by researchers to pick up small insects safely.

  • Pitfall Traps: Containers recessed flush into the soil surface to capture ground-dwelling invertebrates.

  • Sweep Nets: Heavy fabric nets swept through vegetation.

  • D-Frame Nets: Rigid D-shaped nets used in aquatic environments to sweep stream bottoms.

  • Beat Sheet: Fabric frame placed beneath tree branches while the branch is struck with a stick to dislodge canopy insects.

  • Berlese Funnel: Apparatus designed to extract micro-arthropods from soil and leaf litter samples.

    • Components: A $90\,\text{W}$ light bulb mounted at least $3\,\text{inches}$ above the sample, a leaf litter container with a $1/2\,\text{inch}$ hardware cloth screen, a clean/slippery funnel, and a bottom collection vial filled with preservative fluid. Heat and light drive organisms downward into the fluid.

• Large-Mammal Enclosures & Traps:

  • Corral Traps: Large permanent or semi-permanent wire enclosures. Highly efficient for multi-animal captures, but carries high animal stress, injury hazards, and elevated mortality risks.

  • Clover Traps: Soft-sided mesh box traps designed for elusive ungulates (e.g., deer). Reduces blunt force trauma during thrashing, but highly stressful and time-consuming to repair after capture.

• Chemical & Physical Immobilization (Darting):

  • Free / Ground Darting:

    • Advantages: Safe, very low mortality risk, low stress for the target animal.

    • Disadvantages: Time-consuming, inefficient, requires close physical approach, completely unsuitable for elusive species.

  • Helicopter Darting & Net-Gun Capture:

    • Advantages: Highly efficient, capable of capturing highly mobile and elusive species across rugged terrain.

    • Disadvantages: Extremely expensive, highly stressful for wildlife, dangerous for capture crews.

    • Risk Illustration: Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) published necropsy findings following the death of an adult male wolf during a "capture and collar" helicopter operation in Routt County on January 28.

• Netting Systems:

  • Net Guns: Used from ground or air for large birds and medium-to-large mammals.

  • Drop Nets: Suspended horizontal nets triggered to fall over groups of animals feeding below on bait.

  • Mist Nets: Very fine mesh netting suspended between poles across flight paths to entangle flying birds and bats non-lethally.

  • Harp Traps: Specialized vertical frames strung with parallel monofilament lines above a catch hopper bag. Used to safely intercept and capture bats without the severe entanglement issues associated with mist nets.

Marking and Identification Techniques

• Permanent & Semi-Permanent Marking:

  • Ear & Wing Tags: Metal or plastic high-visibility numbered tags attached to ears, flippers (e.g., sea turtles), or wing webs (e.g., eagles).

  • Collars: Radio (VHF), GPS, or acoustic transmitter collars.

  • Tattoos: Permanent ink markings placed on hairless skin areas (inner ear, groin).

  • Bird Bands: Aluminum or colored plastic leg rings engraved with unique tracking numbers. Regulated by strict international protocols and databases; requires a licensed "Master Bird Bander" to apply using specialized expanding pliers.

  • PIT Tags (Passive Integrated Transponders): Microchips injected glass-encapsulated beneath the skin, read electronically using an external scanner (zero internal battery required).

• Temporary Marking:

  • Non-toxic fur/skin dyes and paints.

  • Hair clipping or fur shaving patterns.

  • Toenail clipping (in small rodents or amphibians).

  • Drop-off collars designed with timed timed-release mechanism or rot-away cotton spacers.

Movement, Migration, & Spatial Telemetry

• Low-Tech Movement Tracking:

  • Mark-recapture trapping on designated spatial grids.

  • Harvest or hunter reporting of banded migratory birds.

• High-Tech Movement Telemetry:

  • VHF Radio Telemetry: Local-scale tracking using directional handheld Yagi antennas and radio receivers.

  • GPS & Satellite Telemetry: Large-scale tracking providing automated, highly accurate latitude/longitude coordinates uploaded via satellite networks.

  • Obstacles to Movement & Connectivity:

    • Water level fluctuations (natural seasonal cycles vs. human-caused).

    • Human-made structural barriers: Large hydroelectric/irrigation dams and road culvert pipes (e.g., Whiskey Creek Culvert Project).

  • Fish Passage Solutions:

    • Fish ladders (engineered step pools).

    • Tanker truck transport.

    • Pneumatic tube transport systems (e.g., Whooshh Innovations "Salmon Cannon").

• Multi-Sensor Integration Example (Mule Deer Study):

  • Research integrating GPS tracking collars equipped with onboard audio micro-recorders.

  • Spatial Scope: Mapped seasonal migrations of mule deer between the Piceance Basin Winter Range, Roan Plateau Summer Range, and Flattop Mountains Summer Range near Meeker, Colorado (near the Utah and Wyoming borders).

  • Acoustic Scope: Spectrograms plot sound frequency in Hertz ($\text{Hz}$) across time intervals in minutes, allowing researchers to correlate precise GPS locations with specific behaviors (feeding, browsing, resting, running).

Citizen & Community Science

• iNaturalist Platform:

  • A joint global initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society.

  • Workflow:

    1. Record biodiversity observations in the field using mobile devices or cameras.

    2. Share observations with an online community of naturalists and scientists.

    3. Discuss identifications and findings to crowdsource ecological monitoring data.