Genetic and Endocrine Tools for Carnivore Surveys

ahead of science in imagining the information that could be obtained from single hairs or feces. Indeed, from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) to the cult movie GATTACA (Columbia Pictures Corporation 1997), writers and producers foreshadowed the scientific value of noninvasive samples. In the 1990s, with the advance of both molecular genetics and endocrine biology, forensic scientists developed tools to determine the identity, sex, health, and social status of humans from samples left at crime scenes (e.g., hair, scat, urine, saliva). As with many technological advances in human biology, these developments soon transferred to other disciplines—including wildlife biology. In this chapter, we review the state-of-the-art tools that molecular and endocrine biologists employ to learn about carnivores and other wildlife through noninvasive means. The chapter is divided into three sections, with the first describing advances in molecular ecology, the second recounting advances in endocrinology, and the final section briefly discussing the synergy obtained by combining DNA and endocrine tools for understanding carnivore ecology. The primary objectives of this chapter are to (1) provide a general overview of laboratory methods and demonstrate their application via examples; Chapter 9