April 2024 e-edition - 22

THE WORK
The team of biologists started by considering wolverine
behavior, habitat and adaptations. Wolverines
typically live in areas with steep terrain, snow cover
that lasts late into the spring and tend to live at elevations
above 8,500 feet. In Wyoming, that allowed
them to narrow their study to a few potential locations:
the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Absaroka,
Wind River and Wyoming ranges along with the
Medicine Bow and Bighorn mountains.
After narrowing in on some key areas, biologists
broke them into smaller sections. For this study, the
biologists defined the study units to replicate the size
of a female's home range. This allowed the area to be
large without the potential of missing a wolverine's
range completely.
Studying each unit isn't possible, but biologists
can survey random units and apply those results to
the entire study area. Using computer models, they
mapped all the study units and randomly selected
which ones to survey.
Researchers next had to find the wolverines. With
a low population density, visually surveying for them
wouldn't be very successful. Instead, researchers
used the wolverine's opportunistic feeding to their
advantage. Researchers placed attractants to lure the
wolverines to a single point or station set up within
each of the selected study units. At each station, they
installed a camera trap facing a lure tree.
There were two possible configurations for
attractants based on how accessible the sites were
to biologists. At more accessible sites, the tree had a
large piece of carrion as bait. In locations biologists
could not access regularly, the tree had a dispenser
that periodically released a smelly liquid to attract
wolverines. Both configurations included a tool to
collect hair samples for DNA analysis.
Having bait and lures in the wild could attract
other predators as well. To minimize this, researchers
play to the wolverine's adaptations for high-altitude
winter survival. Placing and monitoring lures during
the winter created challenges for researchers, but
ultimately increased the chance of bringing in wolverines
without drawing in other predators that are
inactive or at lower elevations.
Researchers conducted wolverine studies in 201617
and 2021-22, and they plan to repeat them every
five years to track trends and changes in wolverine
populations.
EMERGING RESULTS
During the 2016-17 study, researchers monitored
stations in 183 study units from December until
March. This included the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
and the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming.
In 2021-22, they expanded the area to include the
Medicine Bow Mountains. The second study also
22 | April 2024
Biologists used trail cameras facing trees equipped with lures and baits to survey for wolverine presence. A
collar with small, metal brushes was secured below the attractants to collect hair samples for DNA analysis.
(WGFD photo)
Wolverines will do just about anything to get to what they think is a food source. (WGFD photo)
Wolverines can be found in some of the harshest terrain and weather conditions Wyoming can offer. (WGFD photo)

April 2024 e-edition

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