PROJECTS

Analysis of scat samples from animals is a non‐invasive technique that can provide important data on animal diet, hormone levels, microbiome, and genetics. The use of a trained Conservation Canine (K9) to detect marine mammal scat at sea has been proven to be useful in the Pacific Northwest with Southern Resident Killer Whales. If this method were refined in the future, analysis of scat samples from animals that had been in close proximity to training and testing events may provide important data on stress responses in the animal during the 24 hours preceding the collection, and the potential consequences of that response. In order to explore the viability of this method in Hawaii, the Navy invested in a pilot study to determine if a K9 could be successfully trained to detect and ‘direct’ boat drivers – via changes in behavior – to the scat of three species of marine mammals (G. macrorhynchus, K. breviceps, and P. crassidens).