Jody Tucker
Wildlife Biologist
R5 SNFPA Carnivore Monitoring
c/o Rocky Mountain Research Station
800 E. Beckwith Ave.
Missoula MT 59801
Phone: 406-542-4179
Fax: 406.543.2663
E-mail: jtucker [at] fs.fed.us
Genetics Lab Website
SNFPA Carnivore Monitoring 2005 Report Website
Education
B.A. Hiram College, Hiram, OH 1998
M.S. University of Montana, Missoula, MT [In Progress]
Research Interests
My primary research interest is in the application of population genetics to the conservation of wildlife, particularly through the use of non-invasive sampling techniques.
Since 2004 I have been working with the U.S. Forest Service Sierra Nevada Carnivore Monitoring Program which has the objective of assessing the status and trend of the Pacific fisher (Martes pennanti) and American marten (M. Americana) in the Sierras. This population monitoring program involves conducting systematic surveys throughout the region to estimate the proportion of sites annually occupied by fisher and marten, and detect declines over the proposed ten year monitoring period. Each sample unit includes an array of six detection devices (track plates and remote sensor cameras) offset from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots. In 2006 hair snares were added to all track plate boxes to collect hair samples for genetic analysis.
In particular the fisher is a species of considerable conservation concern in California. The remaining population of fisher in the Sierra Nevada is small and geographically isolated, and has been found to be warranted for listing as part of the West Coast distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act. For my master's thesis I will be conducting a population genetic analysis of the fisher in the Sierra Nevada using hair samples collected through the Carnivore Monitoring program. I have three main research objectives: 1.) describe the genetic characteristics of fishers in the southern Sierra Nevada based on microsatellite allele frequencies, 2.) test the effects of prominent natural and man-made landscape features by analyzing their effect on gene flow 3.) estimate the census population size.
The use of non-invasive genetic samples to study population dynamics is especially well suited to research on rare and elusive species such as the fisher. Genetic tools provide a unique opportunity to study these rare animals without having to physically capture and track individuals and consequently enable cost effective studies of such species on the landscape scale. The cumulative effects of timber and vegetation management, road construction, housing development, and the many other impacts of humans on wildlife habitat occur over such large spatial scales that it makes it hard to address population viability concerns at the scale of an individual project or forest. The landscape level and range-wide population data obtained through this research will provide valuable information to help guide management decisions by providing a better understanding of the population structure of fishers across the southern Sierra Nevada.