Genetic Confirmation of Cougars (Puma concolor) in Eastern Canada

This paper presents the results of a long-term study to detect the presence of Puma concolor (Cougar) in eastern Canada. We installed 38 scratching posts to attract wild Cougars and collect hair samples in several national and provincial parks in Québec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. A set of semi...

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Published inNortheastern naturalist Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 383 - 396
Main Authors Lang, Le Duing, Tessier, Nathalie, Gauthier, Marc, Wissink, Renee, Jolicoeur, Hélène, Lapointe, François-Joseph
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Steuben Humboldt Field Research Institute 01.09.2013
Eagle Hill Institute
Northeastern Naturalist
Subjects
Conservation
Conservation biology
DNA
Ecological genetics
Endangered & extinct species
Forensic genetics
Genealogy
Hair
Haplotypes
Mitochondrial DNA
Research s
Species
Specimens
Taxonomy
Wildlife conservation
West Virginia
North America
Nova Scotia Canada
Michigan
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Summary:This paper presents the results of a long-term study to detect the presence of Puma concolor (Cougar) in eastern Canada. We installed 38 scratching posts to attract wild Cougars and collect hair samples in several national and provincial parks in Québec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. A set of semi-nested primers was used to discriminate Cougar samples from other mammalian species based on variation in the 16S rRNA gene of the mitochondrial DNA. Our analyses performed on 476 hair samples revealed 19 positive identifications of Cougars in Québec and New Brunswick. Sequencing further showed that some specimens were from South America, whereas others had a North American origin. We discuss the implications of these results for the conservation of Cougars in eastern Canada.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:1092-6194
1938-5307
DOI:10.1656/045.020.0302