Wildlife Forensics

Question 1

What is the main focus of WF?

Answer 1

Identifying and distinguishing between species and derived parts

Question 2

What are the three main categories of species and the big issues impacting them?

Answer 2

• Native - poaching and illegal movement
• Ranched/Domestic - Disease and cruelty
• Exotic - Illegal trade and invasiveness

Question 3

What are the 5 main questions of WF?

Answer 3

1. Species ID - ex. is that carving bone or ivory?
2. Sex determination - ex. harvest often requires a permit for a certain sex
3. Population ID - ex. what lake does that fish come from?
4. Parentage and Individual ID - ex. legal mating pairs
5. ID of mixed game and domestic tissue - ex. what is in the sausage?

Question 4

What type of DNA method is used in species ID?

Answer 4

mtDNA sequencing as it is a non-variable marker

Question 5

How is sex determination different in mammals and birds?

Answer 5

• Mammals - Female XX, Male XY
• Birds - Female ZW, Male ZZ

Question 6

How is population ID often done?

Answer 6

with the use of a database

Question 7

What DNA method is used in parentage and individual ID?

Answer 7

STR analysis and registries (in the case of breeders)

Question 8

What is CITES?

Answer 8

Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora
- focus on the illegal trade of exotic species
- assisted by the WWF - Trade branch

Question 9

What is WAPPRIITA?

Answer 9

Wild animal and plant protection and regulation of interprovincial and international trade act
- Canadian

Question 10

How are tigers trafficked?

Answer 10

• bones, skin, and organs used in traditional medicine
• not illegal to own, but illegal to profit off of and part tigers

Question 11

How much ivory is traded a year?

Answer 11

• 30 tons per year
• recently banned in China

Question 12

How are rhinos trafficked?

Answer 12

• horns worth 5x that of gold
• > 90% of rhinos removed in the last 30yrs

Question 13

How are sturgeon trafficked?

Answer 13

• culled to collect caviar which can run up to $5k a jar

Question 14

How is DNA used to track the harvest of species

Answer 14

• its not always clear how to harvest sustainably
• DNA profile of populations are used to form quotas and databases

Question 15

How are bears trafficked?

Answer 15

• bile from gallbladders used in traditional Chinese medicine, despite synthetics being more effective
• Asiatic black bear is near extinction
• $2-10k per gallbladder, rest of body left to rot

Question 16

How is DNA used in bear maul attacks?

Answer 16

• Individual ID from STR analysis is used to get the right bear (or other species)

Question 17

How are species IDed?

Answer 17

• genetic barcode using very few sequences, as there is little variation in species and genetic regions
  -BOLD: barcode of life data system (trying to get all species)

Question 18

How is ID used in illegal trade?

Answer 18

• animals often unrecognizable on the market, requires amplification
• exotic food, can ID from cooked meat
• used to ID lucrative bushmeat