Standing out in a crowd: Intraspecific variability in dorsal patterning allows for photo-identification of a threatened anuran,Austral Ecology

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Standing out in a crowd: Intraspecific variability in dorsal patterning allows for photo-identification of a threatened anuran
Austral Ecology ( IF 1.6 ) Pub Date : 2021-08-02 , DOI: 10.1111/aec.13092
John Gould ₁ , Alex Callen ₁ , Cassandra Maynard ₁ , Gregory Knibb ₁ , Jessica Mcgregor ₁ , Lucy Gill ₁ , Samantha Sanders ₁ , Bryce Davies ₁ , Kate Schmahl ₁ , Rachcael Donelly ₁ , Aaron Turner ₁ , Colin Mchenry ₁

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Individuals within amphibian populations are commonly identified using artificial marking techniques, such as toe clipping and microchipping. However, many species in this group may be strong candidates for visual identification from photographs given intraspecific variability in skin features. We investigated the potential for dorsal skin patterns to be used as natural markers for the photo-identification of both juveniles and adults of the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea). This is a threatened species that has come under intense population monitoring using capture-mark-recapture procedures primarily involving the use of artificial markers, with no apparent investigation of the potential for natural markers to be used instead. We collected photographs of marked individuals to determine the level of intraspecific variability in dorsal patterning within a population. This photo-database was subsequently used to create an online survey in which participants were asked to match separate images of query frogs from small image pools by comparing dorsal patterns. Photographs were taken on a smartphone device under field conditions to test whether this technique could be applied to the study of wild populations with little cost or expertise required. We showed that dorsal patterns are clear and distinct among L. aurea individuals and easily visualised from field-acquired images to detect recapture events by eye with a low error rate. While an overwhelming majority of adults possessed dorsal patterning that can be easily distinguished by eye, juveniles often showed a complete absence of patterning, suggesting that photo-identification may be more effective for adult stages. Nevertheless, we highlight the feasibility of collecting visual information on the natural markings of a threatened anuran, providing evidence that it may be used as a supplementary form of identification alongside more traditional techniques, highlighting a potential direction for the future monitoring of this species.

中文翻译：

在人群中脱颖而出：背侧图案的种内变异性允许对受威胁的无尾猿进行照片识别

两栖动物种群中的个体通常使用人工标记技术进行识别，例如剪脚趾和微芯片。然而，鉴于皮肤特征的种内变异性，该组中的许多物种可能是从照片中进行视觉识别的有力候选者。我们研究了背部皮肤图案用作绿色和金色铃蛙（Litoria aurea）。这是一种受到威胁的物种，使用捕获-标记-重新捕获程序进行密集的种群监测，主要涉及使用人工标记，但没有对使用天然标记的潜力进行明显调查。我们收集了标记个体的照片，以确定种群内背侧图案的种内变异水平。这个照片数据库随后被用来创建一个在线调查，参与者被要求通过比较背部图案来匹配来自小图像池的查询青蛙的单独图像。在现场条件下在智能手机设备上拍摄照片，以测试这种技术是否可以应用于对野生种群的研究，而无需花费很少的成本或专业知识。我们表明，背侧模式在升。 aurea个体，并从现场采集的图像中轻松可视化，以低错误率通过眼睛检测重新捕获的事件。虽然绝大多数成年人都拥有可以通过肉眼轻松区分的背部图案，但青少年通常表现出完全没有图案，这表明照片识别在成年阶段可能更有效。尽管如此，我们强调收集有关受威胁的无尾猿的自然标记的视觉信息的可行性，提供证据表明它可以与更传统的技术一起用作识别的补充形式，突出了未来对该物种进行监测的潜在方向。

更新日期：2021-08-02

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