blake
Life Member
From the IDNR
Jack Rabbit Samples Needed Across Iowa
BOONE - Iowa State University (ISU) researchers are looking for hunter harvested or road killed jackrabbits from Iowa that will be used as part of a genetics study to provide insight into how Iowa jackrabbit populations are structured. Genetic data obtained from these tissue samples should provide insight into the degree of genetic relatedness and inbreeding within populations, differentiation from distant populations and movements within local populations.
This information will help develop conservation management strategies for the white-tailed jackrabbit in Iowa.
The Iowa population of jackrabbits has been declining for 40 years and the main reason is the loss of their preferred habitat. In recent years the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Bureau has made harvest season adjustments for this species, but there is no current biological information on jackrabbits to make management recommendations.
HOW TO HELP
Collect genetic samples, including ears, tongues, feet, or internal muscles from road killed or hunter harvested jackrabbits. “If you know of hunters who harvest jackrabbits, ask them to keep a tissue sample,” said Mark McInroy, upland wildlife technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Boone Research Station.
Requirements for the tissue sample are simple:
1. Place sample in a re-sealable plastic bag.
2. Record your name, phone, county, township, range, section on outside of bag in permanent marker.
3. Place in freezer.
4. Contact Sue Fairbanks with ISU, at 515-294-7315; or McInroy, at 515-432-2823 ext. 110.
Important: If you know of hunters who frequently harvest jackrabbits, inform them of the need for samples. “We don’t expect a lot of road kill samples, so hunters are probably our best source of samples,” McInroy said.
If you do find a whole carcass or have the entrails from a harvested specimen (and have freezer space to store them) ISU would also like to look at the reproductive tracts from these animals. Record the same information as above on the bags.
If you have any questions contact Mark McInroy at the Boone Office 515-432-2823 ext. 110.
When I was a kid growing up on a farm in Adair County we had a lot of Jack Rabbits around. With seven kids in the family we ate many of them at meal time over the years.
It has been many years since I have even seen a Jack Rabbit. So here’s the question:
Jack Rabbit Samples Needed Across Iowa
BOONE - Iowa State University (ISU) researchers are looking for hunter harvested or road killed jackrabbits from Iowa that will be used as part of a genetics study to provide insight into how Iowa jackrabbit populations are structured. Genetic data obtained from these tissue samples should provide insight into the degree of genetic relatedness and inbreeding within populations, differentiation from distant populations and movements within local populations.
This information will help develop conservation management strategies for the white-tailed jackrabbit in Iowa.
The Iowa population of jackrabbits has been declining for 40 years and the main reason is the loss of their preferred habitat. In recent years the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Bureau has made harvest season adjustments for this species, but there is no current biological information on jackrabbits to make management recommendations.
HOW TO HELP
Collect genetic samples, including ears, tongues, feet, or internal muscles from road killed or hunter harvested jackrabbits. “If you know of hunters who harvest jackrabbits, ask them to keep a tissue sample,” said Mark McInroy, upland wildlife technician with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Boone Research Station.
Requirements for the tissue sample are simple:
1. Place sample in a re-sealable plastic bag.
2. Record your name, phone, county, township, range, section on outside of bag in permanent marker.
3. Place in freezer.
4. Contact Sue Fairbanks with ISU, at 515-294-7315; or McInroy, at 515-432-2823 ext. 110.
Important: If you know of hunters who frequently harvest jackrabbits, inform them of the need for samples. “We don’t expect a lot of road kill samples, so hunters are probably our best source of samples,” McInroy said.
If you do find a whole carcass or have the entrails from a harvested specimen (and have freezer space to store them) ISU would also like to look at the reproductive tracts from these animals. Record the same information as above on the bags.
If you have any questions contact Mark McInroy at the Boone Office 515-432-2823 ext. 110.
When I was a kid growing up on a farm in Adair County we had a lot of Jack Rabbits around. With seven kids in the family we ate many of them at meal time over the years.
It has been many years since I have even seen a Jack Rabbit. So here’s the question:
