A Novel Application of a Cryosectioning Technique to Aid Scat Hair Microanalysis |
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Authors: | Talia Y Mandoreba BSc Karen J Cloete PhD Roya Minnis‐Ndimba PhD Olga L Kupika PhD |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Private Bag 7724 Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe;2. Cheetah Outreach Project, PO Box 1009, Somerset West, 7137 South Africa;3. Materials Research Department, iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences, National Research Foundation, PO Box 722, Somerset West, 7129 South AfricaCorresponding author: Karen J. Cloete, Ph.D. E‐mail: and;4. Materials Research Department, iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences, National Research Foundation, PO Box 722, Somerset West, 7129 South Africa |
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Abstract: | Scat hair presents a diverse profile of hairs for morphological assessment that may find versatile applications in wildlife forensic investigations. Successful morphological assessment of scat hair microstructure, however, depends on a robust sectioning methodology. We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of a cryosectioning technique compared to that of a gold standard hand‐sectioning technique. Scat hairs were embedded in paraffin wax and hand‐sectioned, while cryopreserved scat hairs were sectioned with a cryostat. The results showed that cryosectioning preserved the pristine morphology of the scat hair and provided cross sections more amenable to high‐resolution imaging of hair internal microstructure than hand‐sectioning. The cryosectioning technique may find novel applications as a more reliable and robust technique to aid (i) scat hair internal microstructure analysis for cross‐referencing with species identification keys in wildlife forensic studies and (ii) downstream toxicological analysis in wildlife forensic studies as hair biochemistry is not altered during cryopreservation. |
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Keywords: | forensic science wildlife forensic science cryosectioning microstructure analysis microscopy scat hair |
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