Grizzly Scat App app for iPhone and iPad

The Grizzly Scat App is a data collection tool developed by the Grizzly Bear Program, Geographic Information Systems Program, and Communications and Extension Program at the Foothills Research Institute based in Hinton, Alberta, Canada.

By working with citizen scientists like you, our goal is to collect information that will help us understand population trends of Alberta’s grizzly bears in Bear Management Area (BMA) 3. This work is part of a pilot project taking place during the fall of 2014. If successful, it may have application across the province of Alberta and in other jurisdictions.

This application may use the GPS in the background. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

Please register in order to use the app and participate as a citizen scientist. This allows us to identify your data and report back to you with the results of the samples you collect. Registration and authentication requires an internet connection. Please ensure you authenticate prior to the start of any future trips.

If you logout and you don’t have internet connectivity you will not be able to log back into the app. Please ensure you authenticate prior to the start of any future trips. Registration and authentication requires an internet connection.

Project Background:
Non-invasive approaches to determine population size and monitor population trend are essential for grizzly bear recovery in Alberta. Current grizzly bear DNA inventories (barb wire hair snags) tend to be expensive and difficult to implement across large areas.

In Scandinavia, bear managers advocate the use of hunter volunteers to collect scat DNA samples as a model for cost-effective bear inventory and monitoring. This approach has a distinct advantage in that it offers a robust way to assess populations and trends across large geographic areas with reduced costs, and the added benefit of engaging citizens and stakeholder groups in the collection of scientific data that is used to make management decisions.

Recently, the Foothills Research Institute Grizzly Bear Program (FRI GBP) and our international collaborators in Scandinavia have made significant advancements in extracting DNA from Alberta grizzly bear scat. With this exciting development we are ready to implement a pilot project that will assess the feasibility of using scat DNA and citizen science to determine population size, abundance, and distribution of grizzly bears in Bear Management Area (BMA) 3. This year, the FRI GBP is also conducting a repeat of the 2004 DNA population inventory in BMA 3 using barb wire hair collection techniques. This presents a unique opportunity to test and compare the results of the scat DNA inventory against the more traditional hair DNA inventory.