Evaluation of fecal storage and DNA extraction methods in wild boar (Sus scrofa)

摘要

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is one of the most common and widely distributed ungulates in Europe. Population sizes have been growing rapidly in recent years, leading to agricultural damage and farmer compensation costs (Toigo et al. 2008). Furthermore, wild boars play an important role in the transmission of diseases (Fickel and Hohmann 2005). Reliable information on absolute population sizes is of crucial importance for effective wildlife management; however, conventional methods based on hunting harvests, direct sightings, or fecal drop counts yield only relative estimates or predictions about population trends. A useful alternative, with great potential as a feasible census method, may be noninvasive genetic sampling without the need of individual capture (Sloane et al. 2000; Fickel and Hohmann 2005). Feces as a DNA source are attractive because of easy sampling and the possibility for an almost equal capture probability (Wehausen et al. 2004).