Project Details

Name:	2011-2012 - Fisher - Bridge River - Thompson Region - BC Hydro
ID:	4989
Coordinator:	Larry Davis
Funding Agency:	BCH: 12.W.BRG.01
Region:	Thompson
Security:	Normal

Surveys (1 records)

Survey Name	Survey Intensity	Inventory Method	Target Taxa (Species Code / Scientific Name / English Name)  * = Primary Focus
2012 - Fisher - Hair Snare DNA - Bridge River Watershed

Documents (7 records) Display All

Report	Publish Year	Description	Filename
Inventory of Fisher Populations and Reproductive Dens in the Bridge River Watershed	2013	The final year of this project focused calculating a population estimate for fisher (Pekania pennanti), proposing five Wildlife Habitat Areas, producing an article on the project for the BC Trappers Magazine, and developing a brochure on fisher habitat needs for private landowners. This information will provide resource managers with data to set sustainable harvest levels for fisher; focal areas for the application of strategies to retain and augment fisher reproductive habitat; and may help sustain fisher habitat values on locations outside of direct government control, such as private lands. We used DNA-based capture-mark-recapture methods to estimate the number of fishers in 38-20.3 km² cells at the southwest edge of the species' range in the Bridge River watershed of British Columbia. Genetic samples of fishers were collected at 16 hair-snag sites and we used 7 microsatellite markers and sex-specific markers to identify 8 individual fishers (5 male, 3 female) in our 771.4 km² study area. We used the two-innate rates model of program CAPWIRE to estimate the local population size to be 14 individuals (95% CI: 8 - 26 animals), giving us an estimated density of 18.1 fishers/1000 km². This density is higher than reported elsewhere in British Columbia in part because our estimate included all age classes and not just adult resident animals. In addition, other studies in British Columbia based density on the number of animals known alive at the end of the study, whereas we did not account for animals that may have died or dispersed. Despite these differences, the cost-effectiveness and expediency of non-invasive sampling techniques used with the program CAPWIRE hold promise for estimating the population size of low-density species such as fishers. In addition to the population estimate generated in this year, work completed in past years of this project has provided data on the abundance of potential den trees for fisher and the locations of another blue-li ...	wsi_4989_rpt_Final.pdf (1.2 MB)
Map	Publish Year	Description	Filename
Map of Fisher Populations and Dens inventoried		Map of Fisher Populations and Dens inventoried	wsi_4989_img_Map_PopDens.pdf (4.2 MB)
Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Gun Lake area		Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Gun Lake area	wsi_4989_img_WHA_GunLk_Map.pdf (428 KB)
Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Lajoie Lake area		Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Lajoie Lake area	wsi_4989_img_WHA_LajoieLk_Map.pdf (437 KB)
Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Liza Lake area		Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Liza Lake area	wsi_4989_img_WHA_LizaLk_Map.pdf (442 KB)
Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Marshal Lake area		Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Marshal Lake area	wsi_4989_img_WHA_MarshalLk_Map.pdf (436 KB)
Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Yalakom area		Map of proposed Wildlife Habitat Area for Fisher in the Yalakom area	wsi_4989_img_WHA_Yalakom_Map.pdf (432 KB)