Despite the advances described above, very few studies have
compared population size estimates derived from non-invasive genetic
methods with those from other independent methods to assess
reliability, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. The use of dungcount
survey methods to assess elephant population size is well
established (Barnes, 1996; Hedges and Lawson, 2006). We therefore
compared the outcomes and costs of a dung-count survey of
an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population with a simultaneous
fecal DNA-based CMR survey of the same population.