Team Work to Help the World's Polar Bears
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Researchers Linda J. Gormezano and Robert F. Rockwell with Quinoa, their research dog. Click the image to enlarge.
DNA Study in the Churchill Area
Like Waterman, biologists Linda J. Gormezano and Robert F. Rockwell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York are also working on a noninvasive method of studying polar bears. Their approach is to “passively” gather hair and scat samples on the tundra without disturbing the bears. These samples then undergo a DNA analysis to help scientists understand the genetic relatedness of polar bears in a given area. In addition, all scat samples are analyzed for dietary content. The location of the samples and the quantities found help scientists determine the abundance and spatial distribution of the bears, including occupancy rates at maternal den sites.
PBI contributed to the team's first field season and hopes to help underwrite next year's field work as well. Gormezano and Rockwell—aided by their research dog, Quinoa—successfully collected 174 samples during the spring field season (83 hair and 91 scat) and 431 during the summer season (268 hair and 163 scat). The molecular lab at the American Museum of Natural History is now in the process of analyzing them.
“The results of our first year's field work shows that the simple study design has potential for expanded use within and around the national park,” says Gormezano.
Like Waterman, biologists Linda J. Gormezano and Robert F. Rockwell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York are also working on a noninvasive method of studying polar bears. Their approach is to “passively” gather hair and scat samples on the tundra without disturbing the bears. These samples then undergo a DNA analysis to help scientists understand the genetic relatedness of polar bears in a given area. In addition, all scat samples are analyzed for dietary content. The location of the samples and the quantities found help scientists determine the abundance and spatial distribution of the bears, including occupancy rates at maternal den sites.
PBI contributed to the team's first field season and hopes to help underwrite next year's field work as well. Gormezano and Rockwell—aided by their research dog, Quinoa—successfully collected 174 samples during the spring field season (83 hair and 91 scat) and 431 during the summer season (268 hair and 163 scat). The molecular lab at the American Museum of Natural History is now in the process of analyzing them.
“The results of our first year's field work shows that the simple study design has potential for expanded use within and around the national park,” says Gormezano.