Trail Camera Research: Everett Community College 

Everett Community College utilizes camera traps to monitor local river otter populations in the Snohomish River estuary. The visitation patterns seem to connect to tidal cycles, which students then relate to diet and prey availability. The time signature on the camera allows students to determine how fresh the scat samples are, and whether they are viable for DNA extraction. Most of the work involves scat dissection for prey target species. Everett Community College typically has three cameras deployed at one time: two near the mouth of the estuary, and one a mile up the river. They have also adapted the camera to track osprey nest visitations during the summer months.