PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Why scientists are worried about weasels

Why scientists are worried about weasels
2025-03-28
(Press-News.org) When monitoring the health of mammal populations, scientists often use camera traps to observe the animals in their habitats.  But weasels are so sneaky they’re rarely caught on camera – leaving scientists with questions about this population of predators.

“We’re a little worried about the weasels,” says Roland Kays, a research professor at North Carolina State University and scientist at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. “We don’t see them very often, but it’s difficult to tell if they’re actually gone or if they’re just so sneaky that we can’t find them. We decided that we needed to better understand the best method to detect them. There wasn’t a great consensus on that.”

That problem is the focus of a new study by Kays and a host of collaborators, which examines what kind of bait is most effective at luring weasels out of hiding.

Between 2022 and 2023, researchers placed 486 camera traps in sites across the central and eastern United States where they knew weasels lived. They baited those traps with seven types of lures to see which ones attracted the most mustelids – a diverse family of carnivores that includes weasels, ferrets and martens.

Red meat outperformed all other baits, especially when supplemented with a bit of salmon oil. Weasels in the south also had a taste for chicken, Kays said. Because red meat is also attractive to most other predators, researchers used a new double-cage system to make it harder for larger animals to reach the bait.

“There is a huge variety of scent lures available, and trappers often make their own from all kinds of ingredients,” he said. “As it turns out, however, just having a chunk of meat works the best.”

Of all the weasel species to worry about, the “least weasel” is the most worrisome. As the world’s smallest carnivore, the least weasel is notoriously difficult to track down and has only been seen in a handful of camera trap surveys. Their range extends into the North Carolina mountains, and Kays hopes to use the findings from this study to survey least weasel populations there.

“Now that we have an understanding of the best ways to lure the weasels, we can be more confident in the findings of our surveys,” he said. “When we have sites where we don’t detect them, we can be much more assured that they aren’t just in hiding, they’re really just not there at all.”

The paper, “Efficacy of baits and lures for weasel detection” is available to read in the open-source journal Wildlife Society Bulletin. The study’s corresponding author is Scott M. Bergeson of Purdue University Fort Wayne. This project was partially funded through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act 1937.

-pitchford-

Note to editors: The abstract of the paper follows.

“Observations on weasel bait efficacy during a nationwide camera trapping survey”

Authors: Scott M Bergeson, Purdue University, Roland Kays, North Carolina State University/North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, et al.

Published: March 27, 2025 in Wildlife Society Bulletin

DOI: 10.1002/wsb.1580

Abstract: Small mustelids are difficult to survey due to their low density and cryptic nature. Population status of North American weasels (Mustela erminea, Mustela nivalis, and Neogale frenata) are believed to be in decline, but there are no standardized monitoring protocols to evaluate their status. To support weasel monitoring, we compared the attractiveness of various combinations of baits and lures to weasels in sites located throughout the eastern and central USA. We baited a total of 122 clusters of 4 camera traps, across 14 states, with random combinations of 4 baits and 3 scent lures in the winters of 2022 and 2023. Cameras baited with meat were 3.5 times more likely to detect both short- and long-tailed weasels on average (mean percentage of cameras detecting weasels: 20–30%) than those with scent lures (3–11%). Red meat was twice as effective at attracting short-tailed weasels (50%) as chicken or cat food (20%; Z = 2.49, p < 0.01). While red meat marginally increased detections of long-tailed weasels (21%) compared to chicken and cat food (19%), its effectiveness was influenced by whether the bait was stolen (Z = 2.08, p = 0.04). Additionally, long-tailed weasels were detected in half the time when raw chicken was used (median days to detection: red meat = 39.5 days, raw chicken = 14.5 days). When salmon oil was added to meat bait, it increased the likelihood of detecting short-tailed weasels and reduced the time to detection for both species. A variety of non-target species stole meat bait during the survey, making the camera traps less effective. The addition of salmon oil may have allowed for continual attraction of weasels until stolen meat bait could be replenished. In summary, red meat was the best all-purpose bait for weasels, although raw chicken is similarly effective for long-tailed weasels, and the addition of salmon oil is helpful. We also recommend a specific bait enclosure design that was the most effective at minimizing theft of bait. We propose our baiting strategy can be used as a survey standard to evaluate the distribution and population status of weasels.

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Why scientists are worried about weasels

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

American College of Cardiology recognizes 21 Distinguished Award recipients

2025-03-28
The American College of Cardiology is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Awards. The twenty-one recipients have made remarkable contributions to the cardiovascular professional, helping the ACC in its mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health for all. Awardees will be recognized during Convocation at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25) taking place March 29 – 31, 2025, in Chicago. The 2025 Distinguished Award winners are: 2025 Bernadine Healy Leadership in Women’s Cardiovascular Disease Malissa J. Wood, MD, FACC 2025 Distinguished Cardiovascular ...

American College of Cardiology recognizes three recipients of the Hani Najm Global Scholar Award Observership Program

2025-03-28
The American College of Cardiology will honor three early career cardiologists with the Hani Najm Global Scholar Award Observership Program at ACC's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25), taking place March 29 – 31, 2025, in Chicago. Established in 2020 at the Saudi Heart Association’s Annual Conference, the Hani Najm Global Award Observership Program encourages and fosters the sharing of knowledge between international cardiology professionals, specifically early career cardiologists in the Middle East and Africa. Through its Observership Program, recipients have the opportunity to ...

DNA helps electronics to leave flatland

DNA helps electronics to leave flatland
2025-03-28
Researchers at Columbia Engineering have for the first time used DNA to help create 3D electronically operational devices with nanometer-size features. "Going from 2D to 3D can dramatically increase the density and computing power of electronics," said corresponding author Oleg Gang, professor of chemical engineering and of applied physics and materials science at Columbia Engineering and leader of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials' Soft and Bio Nanomaterials Group at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The new manufacturing technique could also contribute to the ongoing effort ...

Studying cardiac cells in space to repair heart damage on Earth

2025-03-28
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), March 28, 2025 – Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for one in five deaths. The inability of damaged heart muscle tissue to regenerate makes heart disease difficult to treat, and end-stage heart failure patients have no choice but to join a long list of people waiting for a heart transplant. Researchers from Emory University are working to provide another option for such patients. To do this, the team took their research to a laboratory unlike any on Earth—the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station). Chunhui ...

Studies evaluate the health effects of bioactive compounds obtained from plants

Studies evaluate the health effects of bioactive compounds obtained from plants
2025-03-28
Fruits and plant extracts contain bioactive compounds that can help treat or prevent diseases. To characterize and understand their mechanism of action, researchers from universities and research institutions in Brazil and Germany have conducted independent but complementary studies. Some of the results were presented at a lecture session on the future of food and nutrition research on March 25th during FAPESP Week Germany at the Free University of Berlin. According to Ulrich Dobrindt, a professor at the University of Munich in Germany, medicinal plants contain different types of phytochemicals (natural ...

Howard University physicist revisits the computational limits of life and Schrödinger’s essential question in the era of quantum computing

Howard University physicist revisits the computational limits of life and Schrödinger’s essential question in the era of quantum computing
2025-03-28
WASHINGTON, DC – (March 28, 2025) More than 80 years ago, Erwin Schrödinger, a theoretical physicist steeped in the philosophy of Schopenhauer and the Upanishads, delivered a series of public lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, which eventually came to be published in 1944 under the title What is Life? Now, in the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, Philip Kurian, a theoretical physicist and founding director of the Quantum Biology Laboratory (QBL) at Howard University in Washington, D.C., has used the laws of quantum mechanics, which Schrödinger postulated, and the QBL’s discovery of cytoskeletal ...

Navigating a US bioscience career despite anticipated cuts in funding for biomedicine

Navigating a US bioscience career despite anticipated cuts in funding for biomedicine
2025-03-28
Many young and midcareer scientists in the U.S. are understandably anxious about potential cuts to government funding and the rise of junk science. Although your future in biomedicine may not be what you originally planned, it might actually become more interesting and filled with new possibilities and opportunities for innovation. Don’t think of this time to hunker down and disappear. Do the opposite with the understanding that you are more powerful and brilliant than you may realize.   In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to ...

How the failure of two dams amplified the Derna Flood tragedy

How the failure of two dams amplified the Derna Flood tragedy
2025-03-28
A new study reveals that the devastating 2023 flood in Derna, Libya, was not merely the result of extreme rainfall but was drastically intensified by a major design shortcoming and its resulting collapse of two embankment dams. Through advanced hydrological modeling and satellite data analysis, researchers found that while Storm Daniel brought heavy rainfall, the catastrophe stemmed from dam failures and flawed risk assessment and communication—amplifying the destruction nearly twentyfold. The findings highlight the urgent need for improved flood mitigation strategies, especially in dryland regions where high uncertainty ...

Oral contraceptives and smoking impact steroid hormone levels in healthy adults

2025-03-28
Steroid hormone levels in healthy adults are influenced by oral contraceptives and smoking, as well as other lifestyle choices and factors such as biological sex and age, according to new research that has just been published in leading international journal Science Advances. The objective of the research was to expand knowledge and understanding of steroid hormone levels, including corticoids and sex hormones, in healthy women and men over a broad age range. This is the first study to analyse such a large number of hormones in nearly 1,000 healthy people, filling a ...

C-Path’s predictive safety testing consortium advances a transformative test to detect drug induced liver injury

2025-03-28
TUCSON, Ariz., March 27, 2025 – Researchers from Critical Path Institute’s® (C-Path) Predictive Safety Testing Consortium have proposed glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) as a more liver-specific biomarker for detecting liver injury, supporting clearer decision-making. Currently, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT and AST) are considered the “gold standard” biomarkers in clinical practice and drug development. However, these biomarkers are not specific to the liver and can reflect changes in other tissues, which may lead to unclear diagnoses, particularly in individuals with muscle conditions ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Do authoritarian narratives shape Japanese public opinion?

New plesiosaur discovery sheds light on early Jurassic evolution and plausible endemism

Chance discovery improves stability of bioelectronic material used in medical implants, computing and biosensors

Using artificial intelligence to calculate the heart’s biological age through ECG data predicts increased risk of mortality and cardiovascular events

“She loves me, she loves me not”: physical forces encouraged evolution of multicellular life, scientists propose

The hidden superconducting state in NbSe₂: shedding layers, gaining insights

New AI models possible game-changers within protein science and healthcare

Highly accurate blood test diagnoses Alzheimer’s disease, measures extent of dementia

Mind the seismic gap: Understanding earthquake types in Guerrero, Mexico

One hour’s screen use after going to bed increases your risk of insomnia by 59%, scientists find

Canada needs to support health research at home and abroad

Cannabis use disorder among insured pregnant women in the US between 2015-2020

Education system needs overhaul to support school anxiety, psychologists say

Play “humanizes” pediatric care and should be key feature of a child-friendly NHS – report

Stricter oversight needed as financial misconduct drives risk-taking in banking

Cardiac arrest during long-distance running races

Preventable cardiac deaths during marathons are down, Emory study finds

New study finds peripheral artery disease often underdiagnosed and undertreated; opportunity to improve treatments, lower death rates

Use of antidepressant medication linked to substantial increase in risk of sudden cardiac death 

Atrial fibrillation diagnosed in midlife is linked to a 21% increased risk of dementia at any age and a 36% higher risk of early-onset dementia 

Mode of death in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction

Intravenous ferric carboxymaltose in heart failure with iron deficiency

Artificial intelligence in the prevention of sudden death

Oral semaglutide vastly reduces heart attacks, strokes in people with type 2 diabetes

Prothrombin complex concentrate vs frozen plasma for coagulopathic bleeding in cardiac surgery

Who needs a statin? New study compares prescribing recommendations based on traditional risk factors vs. coronary artery calcium scoring

Finerenone and atrial fibrillation in heart failure

Low coronary artery calcium score is associated with an excellent prognosis regardless of a person’s age, new study finds

Groundbreaking consensus statement on conduction system pacing released: a major milestone in the evolution of pacing therapy

Nuclear monitoring system suggests landslide cut off internet in west Africa

[Press-News.org] Why scientists are worried about weasels