An optimized hair trap for non-invasive genetic studies of small cryptic mammals

Abstract

As sample quality and quantity is a crucial factor in non-invasive genetics, we focused on the improvement of sampling efficiency of glue hair traps. We invented an optimized hair trap with moveable parts which enhanced sampling of high-quality genetic material. With the aid of the optimized hair trap, we were able to remotely pluck a sufficient amount of hair bulbs from our study animal the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) with a trapping success of 49.3% after one survey night. The number of collected hairs with bulbs ranged between 1 and 50, with an average of 20.7±14.8. Subsequently, the use of the hair trap in combination with a simplified laboratory routine allowed us to amplify species-specific microsatellites with an amplification success of 96.2% and ADO of 4.6%. This optimized trap may find usage for species identification or could be used as an instrument for long-term genetic monitoring of mammal populations.

Locating species range frontiers: a cost and efficiency comparison of citizen science and hair-tube survey methods for use in tracking an invasive squirrel

“…Examples of indirect species-presence surveys include sighting transects, point observations, feeding transects, scent stations, scat surveys, drey counts, footprint tunnels and the use of remote wildlife camera traps (Brown et al 1996;Barea-Azcón et al 2007;Gurnell et al 2009). A further method, the hair-tube or hair-snare survey, is a widely used type of indirect survey that allows for the methodical collection of small mammal hair to establish presence in a site (Scotts and Craig 1988;Catling et al 1997;Pocock and Jennings 2006;Harris and Nicol 2010;Schwingel and Norment 2010;Reiners et al 2011). Although less intensive than direct capture surveys, the downside of hair-tube surveys is that they can still be expensive in personnel time and equipment costs, and therefore there are trade-offs in the area that can be covered compared with the ability to detect a species.…”

Genetic monitoring to evaluate reintroduction attempts of a highly endangered rodent

“…High quality hair samples were collected when hamsters were trapped . In Belgium, special hair-traps (Reiners et al 2011) were used in 2010 for collecting hair-samples in the wild. Hair samples from the wild were genotyped at least two or three times (details in Reiners et al 2014).…”

The genetic characterization of an isolated remnant population of an endangered rodent (Cricetus cricetus L.) using comparative data: implications for conservation

“…Here, we present a re-analysis of a previously published SSR data set comprising 219 individuals from Poland and Germany Reiners et al 2011aReiners et al , 2014 and 63 newly scored individuals from two Polish populations (Silesian Region) using the information provided in the ten SSR marker genotypes, Table 1, Table S1.…”

“…12 km E from MAM2, Table 1, Table S1. From field populations of C. cricetus hair samples were collected from individuals using noninvasive hamsterspecific hair traps in 2015 (Reiners et al 2011a, Fig. 1; Table 1).…”