Abstract 252 – New opportunities for genetic sampling of ursids using snow tracks eDNA

Marta De Barba, Frédéric Boyer, Luca Fumagalli, Marjeta Konec, Elena Pazhenkova,
Tomaž Skrbinšek, Pierre Taberlet

Genetic sampling, particularly through the so called noninvasive genetic techniques based on
the collection of scats, hair, etc., have been widely applied to ursids playing a key role for
understanding of their ecology and for solving management and conservation issues. Continued
advancements in molecular ecology research have allowed to retrieve organismal DNA from
environmental samples (e.g. soil, water, snow) expanding the wildlife genetic sampling toolbox.
DNA traces in the environment (eDNA), in fact, can be used to genetically sample animals in
their natural setting even without finding any visible biological material left by them. Most
eDNA studies have focused on species detection and derived applications via mitochondrial
DNA analysis, but recent progress in the field now enable recovery also of nuclear eDNA
suitable for population level analysis, including individual genotyping.
We will present successful individual genotyping of eDNA obtained from brown bear (Ursus
arctos) snow tracks. Snow samples were collected from tracks of brown bears in Slovenia
during winter, eDNA was extracted and genotyped using high-throughput sequencing of
microsatellites plus a sex marker, and individual identification was achieved for 71% of the
samples. We will discuss our results in relation to the new opportunities offered by snow track
eDNA for DNA based surveys and monitoring of ursids but will also outline the new challenges
inherent to field sampling and genotyping and provide recommendations for optimal
application of the method. Species of conservation concern and difficult to study, such as the
polar bear, as well as other bear species in ecosystems with a snowy season for which
ecological data are still lacking will benefit from the additional information acquired through
snow track eDNA.