动物粪便正日益成为濒危物种保护中不可或缺的非侵入式监测工具。通过深入分析粪便成分，研究人员不仅能够确认特定物种的存在并估算其种群数量，还能从中提取遗传物质以评估物种的遗传多样性 1。目前，科学家已成功利用粪便DNA对巨型兔鼠、幽灵蝙蝠和雪豹等珍稀动物的遗传状况进行了有效评估 1。
在健康监测与疾病防控方面，粪便检测展现出极高的应用价值。这种采样方式被证实是检测传染病的非侵入性手段，其准确性可与血液样本检测相媲美，例如已被用于筛查考拉的衣原体感染 1。此外，肠道微生物组的分析揭示了动物适应新环境的能力：研究发现，塔斯马尼亚魔鬼从圈养状态释放到野外后，能够迅速获取野生环境中新的菌种以改善肠道健康 1。为了提高搜索效率，受过专门训练的粪便检测犬发挥作用，它们发现考拉粪便的数量比人工搜索多出约53% 1。尽管前景广阔，但该方法仍面临技术局限，即暴露在自然环境中的粪便DNA会快速降解 1。
Wildlife researchers utilize animal feces as a critical tool for monitoring endangered species and assessing their health. By analyzing scat, scientists can confirm the presence of specific animals and estimate population sizes 1. This non-invasive approach is particularly vital for studying elusive or threatened populations in Australia 1.
One significant application of scat analysis is genetic sampling, which allows researchers to assess genetic diversity within populations. Scientists have successfully extracted DNA from droppings to evaluate the genetic status of giant rabbit rats, ghost bats, and snow leopards 1. Additionally, fecal testing has proven effective for identifying intestinal microbiomes; studies on Tasmanian devils show that individuals released from captivity can rapidly acquire new bacterial strains appropriate for their wild environment 1.
Scat also serves as an important method for disease surveillance. Examining koala feces can identify chlamydia infections with accuracy comparable to blood tests 1. To aid in locating samples, conservation teams employ detection dogs, which have been found to locate approximately 53% more koala scat than human searchers during field surveys 1. Despite these advantages, a key limitation remains: DNA found in scat degrades quickly when exposed to natural outdoor conditions 1.
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