EXTRACTION TECHNIQUE AND MICROSATELLITE PRIMERS ON GENOTYPING SUCCESS AND ERROR RATES OF RIVER OTTER (LONTRA CANADENSIS) FAECAL DNA by

My thesis contains two chapters that have been prepared as manuscripts for publication. The first chapter, " The effects of diet, extraction technique and microsatellite primers on genotyping success and error rates of river otter (Lontra canadensis) faecal DNA " comprises the main effort of my work as a Master of Sciences student and will be submitted to Molecular Ecology. The second chapter, " What determines group formation and maintenance in coastal river otters? " is additional work I completed that will be submitted to the Journal of Mammalogy. Both of these chapters have different formats that comply with the requirements of each journal. The common theme that connects these chapters is methodology and species of interest. Both chapters address different questions on the behavior and populations of river otters with DNA analyses. The main objective of my first chapter was to determine what procedures can be adopted to improve genotyping success and minimize errors while reducing the handling time and costs in fecal DNA analyses. Development of such procedures is essential for large scale efforts for estimating populations of river otters with noninvasive sampling. I explored the effects that diet composition, extraction techniques and microsatellite primers have on DNA amplification and genotyping success and error rates of river otter feces. This study resulted in several recommendations for other projects that will be using fecal DNA analyses to estimate the numbers of river otters and other species. The main objective for my second chapter was to determine how coastal male river otters are forming and maintaining social groups in Alaska. I explored the effects of relatedness, age, and familiarity on behavioral interactions between 15 captive male otters. Also, I explored whether testosterone or dominance affected behavioral interactions among those individuals. My analyses revealed that otters may be using familiarity to form and maintain groups. None of the other variables influenced the social interactions among male river otters. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to make a special thanks to my advisor, Dr. Merav Ben-David, who is an inspiration to us all and provided me with many wonderful opportunities. I would also like to thank my graduate committee, Drs. Steven Horn and David McDonald, for their advice on animal behavior and population genetics. Thanks to Pam Groves for providing assistance and use of her lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Many thanks to Howard Golden with the Alaska Fish and Game …