A NOVEL FORENSICS TOOL USING MICROBES TO INFORM THE PROVENANCE OF AFRICAN GREY PARROTS IN THE WILDLIFE TRADE IN THE US AND ABROAD

A continuing and problematic trend in the exotic animal pet trade is that wild animals are being illegally extracted from their native habitats, 'laundered' through captive breeding operations, and then marketed as legal and captive-born.

The purpose of this project is to counter wildlife trafficking globally by researching the utility of a novel biological marker that can be used as forensic evidence indicating whether an animal has been legally reared in captivity or illegally harvested from the wild.

The project is intended to conserve African grey parrots by developing a new forensic tool that can enable investigators to use a robust type of evidence that identifies the animal's provenance as wild or captive reared.

Specific activities of this two-year grant include: (1) refining the design for a proof of concept study aimed at developing a new forensics tool and identifying a larger community of stakeholders; (2) collecting fecal samples from African grey parrots in captive facilities and from the wild; (3) sequencing the microbial DNA from fecal samples to study the bacteria and parasites present; (4) analyzing data to test whether bird rearing history (wild versus captive) is a reliable and strong signal in the dataset relative to other sources of variability; (5) disseminating results to wildlife forensic specialists and criminology stakeholders; and (6) beginning to apply the approach to other species threatened by illegal wild harvest for the pet trade.