Wildlife forensic science

Wildlife forensic science is forensic science applied to legal issues involving wildlife.They also deal with conservation and identification of rare species and is a useful tool for non-invasive studies to determine relatedness of the animals in the area allowing them to determine rare and endangered species that are candidates for genetic rescue using things such as the SSCP or Single-Strand Conformational Polymorphism gel electrophoresis technique, microscopy, and some DNA and Isotope analysis they can identify species and individual animals in most cases if they have already been captured .

Techniques

Single-Strand Conformational Polymorphism Gel electrophoresis

A simple and sensitive technique used to identify any mutations and also used in the genotyping of animals. The technique uses the method based on the fact that single-stranded DNA has a defined conformation. Any altered conformation due to a single base change in the sequence can cause single-stranded DNA to migrate differently under nondenaturing electrophoresis conditions, so a wild-type and mutant DNA samples display different band patterns.

There are 4 steps to this method:

1. polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA sequence of interest
2. denaturation of double-stranded PCR products
3. cooling of the denatured DNA (single-stranded) to maximize self-annealing
4. detection of mobility difference of the single-stranded DNAs by electrophoresis under non-denaturing conditions.

DNA and Isotope analysis

DNA analysis is used to help determine the species of an animal they use DNA nucleotide sequencing as a key method and follow it up by comparing sequenced DNA fragments with reference DNA sequences of different species. The similarity or sequence homology between the unknown and reference sequences facilitates to ascertain the species of origin. This technique is used to determine relatedness of a rare species and to also check for any signs of inbreeding depression in the target species to see if it is a candidate for genetic rescue. Isotope analysis is used in this same vein to determine the composition of the habitat that animal resides in.

Microscopy

This technique is when genetic microscopes are used to look down to a single cell it is used to look at recombination also look for mutations in genes it has been used to help identify many deleterious alleles in genes.

Laboratories and organizations

With the initiative of the Society for Wildlife Forensic Science (SWFS), the Scientific Working Group for Wildlife Forensic Sciences (SWGWILD) was formed in 2011. Also, the Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics (WFCG) Cell was formed by merging the Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics Laboratories for strengthening the enforcement of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India.

Scope

While animals and plants are the victims in the crimes of illegal wildlife trade and animal abuse, society also pays a heavy price when those crimes are used to fund illegal drugs, weapons and terrorism. Links between human trafficking, public corruption and illegal fishing have also been reported. The continued development and integration of wildlife forensic science as a field will be critical for successful management of the many significant social and conservation issues related to the illegal wildlife trade and wildlife law enforcement.

See also

• Marine forensics

References

• Tobe, Shanan S.; Linacre, A. (13 December 2007). "A multiplex assay to identify 18 European mammal species from mixtures using the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene". Electrophoresis. 29 (2): 340–347. doi:10.1002/elps.200700706. PMID 18080254. S2CID 2773990.
• Linacre, A.; Tobe, Shanan S. (13 January 2011). "An overview to the investigative approach to species testing in wildlife forensic science". Investigative Genetics. 2 (2): 2. doi:10.1186/2041-2223-2-2. PMC 3032691. PMID 21232099.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
• Tobe, Shanan S.; Linacre, A. (September 2010). "DNA typing in wildlife crime: recent developments in species identification". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 6 (3): 195–206. doi:10.1007/s12024-010-9168-7. PMID 20526699. S2CID 23741712.
• Alacs, E. A.; Georges, A.; FitzSimmons, N. N.; Robertson, J. (16 December 2009). "DNA detective: a review of molecular approaches to wildlife forensics". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 6 (3): 180–194. doi:10.1007/s12024-009-9131-7. PMID 20013321. S2CID 8217484.
• Espinoza, Edgard O., and Mary-Jacque Mann. 2000. Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, 3rd edition. Ivory Identification Incorporated, Richmond, VA
• Ogden, Rob (2008). "Fisheries forensics: the use of DNA tools for improving compliance, traceability and enforcement in the fishing industry". Fish and Fisheries. 9 (4): 462–472. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2008.00305.x.
• Ogden, Rob; Nick Dawnay; Ross McEwing (2009). "Wildlife DNA forensics – bridging the gap between conservation genetics and law enforcement". Endangered Species Research. 9: 179–195. doi:10.3354/esr00144.
• Trail, Pepper W. (18 September 2006). "Avian Mortality at Oil Pits in the United States: A Review of the Problem and Efforts for Its Solution". Environmental Management. 38 (4): 532–544. doi:10.1007/s00267-005-0201-7. PMID 16988870. S2CID 42964596.
• U.S. Department of State (8 November 2007). "The coalition against wildlife trafficking: working together to end the illegal trade in wildlife" (PDF). Retrieved 17 May 2014.
• Warchol, A. (2004). "The transnational illegal wildlife trade". Criminal Justice Studies. 17. s: 57–73. doi:10.1080/08884310420001679334. S2CID 144334170.
• Yates, Bonnie C.; Espinoza, Edgard O.; Baker, Barry W. (13 June 2010). "Forensic species identification of elephant (Elephantidae) and giraffe (Giraffidae) tail hair using light microscopy". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. 6 (3): 165–171. doi:10.1007/s12024-010-9169-6. PMID 20549391. S2CID 207365451.
• Zimmerman, M. (2003). "The black market for wildlife: combating transnational organized crime in the illegal wildlife trade". Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. 36: 1657–1689.

Further reading

• Baker, Barry (1 November 2008). "A brief overview of forensic herpetology". Applied Herpetology. 5 (4): 307–318. doi:10.1163/157075408786532048.
• Cooper, John E. Cooper, Margaret E. (2007). Introduction to veterinary and comparative forensic medicine ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub. ISBN 9780470752944.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Linacre, Adrian. Tobe, Shanan S. (2013). Wildlife DNA Analysis: Applications in Forensic Science. Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470665954.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Huffman, Jane E.; Wallace, John R. (2012). Wildlife Forensics : Methods and Applications. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780470662595. OCLC 991761530.
• Leakey, Laurel A. Neme ; foreword by Richard (2009). Animal investigators : how the world's first wildlife forensics lab is solving crimes and saving endangered species (1st Scribner hardcover ed.). New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1416550563.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Welch, Craig (2010). Shell games rogues, smugglers, and the hunt for nature's bounty (1st ed.). New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0061987984.

External links

• INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group
• National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory
• NOAA Marine Forensics Laboratory
• Society for Wildlife Forensic Science (SWFS)
• Article on SWGWILD (the Scientific Working Group for Wildlife Forensics)
• Italian National Reference Centre for Veterinary Forensic Medicine (CeMedForVet)