Methods of amphibian tracking

Abstract

Ntroduction: In this article, we present a literature review of modern, most common, and useful methods of amphibian tracking. Amphibians are the most sensitive group of animals and near 41 % of species are under the risk of extinction. Therefore, the research of spatial movements of amphibians is one of the most topical tasks of modern herpeto­logy. The information about the use of space is needed for practical protection of sensitive species of amphibians, for planning of protected areas, estimation of the potential danger for some groups of animals when designing infrastructure objects, such as roads. The movement studies gained popularity and have been undertaken since the second part of the 20th century. Such growth in the number of studies is related to the recent advances in radio-electronic technology that contributed to the creation of a range of instruments for automatic or semi-automatic tracking of individual animals. Unfortunately, most of such methods are still too expensive for scientists from developing countries. Thus, classical methods are still widely used. Results: We describe six methods of amphibians tracking: radioisotope tracking, automated radio telemetry, harmonic direction finding, radio frequency identification, fluorescent powder, spool tracking. Each of these methods allows collecting detailed information about spatial movements of individuals. Many of these tracking methods require using of a special tag, which is attached to an animal and used for its further detection. Different types of tags have identical functions but are based on different principles of use. Two of the described methods do not require using of tags and are cheap. These are fluorescent powder and spool tracking. In the article, we provide many links to grant programs and places where special equipment can be found. Conclusions: As a result of literature review, we created a table with concise information about all the described methods. Using this table one can choose the best method for an experiment. Keywords: amphibians, radiotelemetry, fluorescent powder, radioisotope tracking, spool tracking