Pub Date : 2023-02-10DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10126
M. Liuzzo, S. Borella, D. Ottonello, V. Arizza, S. Malavasi
Behavioural and spatial distribution analyses were quantified during a phase of activity and lethargy in a wild population of the European pond turtle inhabiting a protected internal wetland area of the Venice lagoon. The marked individuals (13 males and 16 females) provided informative radiotracking data to study differential patterns of activity, dispersion and habitat use between the two study periods (“October-November both 2019 and 2020” and “June-July 2020”). The differences in the movements behaviours and habitat selection were affected by period. Movements were higher in the period of activity than lethargy, but they were not influenced by sex and size. The presence of the European pond turtle in the transitional woodland/shrubs and brackish water valley habitats was significantly higher in the period of activity than lethargy. During the latter one, pond turtles were observed to brumate gregariously in a small area for brumation, usually in shallow water. In contrast, all individuals have changed water bodies during the activity period. Part of those movements has occurred towards aquatic habitat with higher salinities 1-17 (mean: 10.64). These findings provide a set of information to better understand the behavioural ecology of Emys orbicularis in the lagoon area. This is of relevance for management actions and for the conservation of this threatened species.
{"title":"Comparing activity and space patterns of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (L., 1758) in a Venice Lagoon wetland area: implications for conservation planning and management","authors":"M. Liuzzo, S. Borella, D. Ottonello, V. Arizza, S. Malavasi","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10126","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Behavioural and spatial distribution analyses were quantified during a phase of activity and lethargy in a wild population of the European pond turtle inhabiting a protected internal wetland area of the Venice lagoon. The marked individuals (13 males and 16 females) provided informative radiotracking data to study differential patterns of activity, dispersion and habitat use between the two study periods (“October-November both 2019 and 2020” and “June-July 2020”). The differences in the movements behaviours and habitat selection were affected by period. Movements were higher in the period of activity than lethargy, but they were not influenced by sex and size. The presence of the European pond turtle in the transitional woodland/shrubs and brackish water valley habitats was significantly higher in the period of activity than lethargy. During the latter one, pond turtles were observed to brumate gregariously in a small area for brumation, usually in shallow water. In contrast, all individuals have changed water bodies during the activity period. Part of those movements has occurred towards aquatic habitat with higher salinities 1-17 (mean: 10.64). These findings provide a set of information to better understand the behavioural ecology of Emys orbicularis in the lagoon area. This is of relevance for management actions and for the conservation of this threatened species.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47716019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-10DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10125
Arthur Choeur, J. Clémencet, M. Le Corre, M. Roesch, M. Sanchez
Habitat loss is the leading cause of reptile decline and therefore, habitat studies are crucial to implement conservation actions. We investigated the microhabitat use of the Manapany day gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata), a critically endangered species endemic to Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean). Anthropogenic disturbances led to a severe fragmentation of the gecko population, and habitat requirements of this species are poorly known, impeding effective restoration work. We (i) investigated intra-annual variations in microhabitat use, (ii) investigated movement rate to better understand habitat use, and (iii) characterised egg-laying sites. We surveyed two gecko populations in remnant natural habitat annually during five years (2015-2019) and monthly in one of the populations during 18 consecutive months. A total of 2621 gecko detections were recorded and 25 egg-laying sites were characterised. Geckos used mainly native plant species, with a high preference for screw pine thickets. We observed seasonal variations in microhabitat preferences and movement rates. Geckos perched higher and thermoregulated motionless in the canopy during winter. In summer, geckos perched lower, spent less time thermoregulating and exhibited saxicolous behaviour, particularly in females. Egg-laying sites were mainly found in rock cavities surrounded by native plants and facing southwards. Our findings confirm the importance of native coastal vegetation for the conservation of this species. Seasonal shifts of microhabitat use indicate that P. inexpectata (i) need habitats with thermal heterogeneity to adapt to seasonal changes in their thermal environment, and (ii) adapt their microhabitat use according to their reproductive phenology, especially for egg-laying in rock cavities.
{"title":"Intra-annual variations of microhabitat use and movements of a critically endangered arboreal day gecko endemic to Reunion Island: implications for conservation","authors":"Arthur Choeur, J. Clémencet, M. Le Corre, M. Roesch, M. Sanchez","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10125","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Habitat loss is the leading cause of reptile decline and therefore, habitat studies are crucial to implement conservation actions. We investigated the microhabitat use of the Manapany day gecko (Phelsuma inexpectata), a critically endangered species endemic to Reunion Island (Western Indian Ocean). Anthropogenic disturbances led to a severe fragmentation of the gecko population, and habitat requirements of this species are poorly known, impeding effective restoration work. We (i) investigated intra-annual variations in microhabitat use, (ii) investigated movement rate to better understand habitat use, and (iii) characterised egg-laying sites. We surveyed two gecko populations in remnant natural habitat annually during five years (2015-2019) and monthly in one of the populations during 18 consecutive months. A total of 2621 gecko detections were recorded and 25 egg-laying sites were characterised. Geckos used mainly native plant species, with a high preference for screw pine thickets. We observed seasonal variations in microhabitat preferences and movement rates. Geckos perched higher and thermoregulated motionless in the canopy during winter. In summer, geckos perched lower, spent less time thermoregulating and exhibited saxicolous behaviour, particularly in females. Egg-laying sites were mainly found in rock cavities surrounded by native plants and facing southwards. Our findings confirm the importance of native coastal vegetation for the conservation of this species. Seasonal shifts of microhabitat use indicate that P. inexpectata (i) need habitats with thermal heterogeneity to adapt to seasonal changes in their thermal environment, and (ii) adapt their microhabitat use according to their reproductive phenology, especially for egg-laying in rock cavities.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48138959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-09DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10124
G. Tessa, G. Sotgiu, S. Bovero, C. Angelini, Marco Favelli, E. Gazzaniga, C. Giacoma, T. Garner
Parasites can directly affect host survival by causing cryptic costs that may occur in species when mortality does not take place or is less evident. Costs can be present in differently life history stages or age cohorts or cause age-dependent effects. Here we investigate the effects of chytridiomycete fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, (Bd), that causes one of the main infectious diseases implicated in numerous mass mortalities and population declines in the class of Amphibia, including in one of the rarest and most threatened salamander in Europe, the endemic Sardinian brook newt Euproctus platycephalus. This species is known to be infected by Bd since 2006, without evident direct cost or mass mortality events being observed. During 5 years of sampling (2007-2011), we captured 273 newts in the main infected area of the Limbara Mountain in the North of Sardinia, and, through epidemiological and age analyzes, we assess that Bd directly affected juvenile recruitment, and it is related to difficulties in the development of the species, with an impact on the females growth.
{"title":"Cryptic but direct costs of an epidemic caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the endangered Sardinian newt Euproctus platycephalus (Amphibia, Caudata)","authors":"G. Tessa, G. Sotgiu, S. Bovero, C. Angelini, Marco Favelli, E. Gazzaniga, C. Giacoma, T. Garner","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10124","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Parasites can directly affect host survival by causing cryptic costs that may occur in species when mortality does not take place or is less evident. Costs can be present in differently life history stages or age cohorts or cause age-dependent effects. Here we investigate the effects of chytridiomycete fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, (Bd), that causes one of the main infectious diseases implicated in numerous mass mortalities and population declines in the class of Amphibia, including in one of the rarest and most threatened salamander in Europe, the endemic Sardinian brook newt Euproctus platycephalus. This species is known to be infected by Bd since 2006, without evident direct cost or mass mortality events being observed. During 5 years of sampling (2007-2011), we captured 273 newts in the main infected area of the Limbara Mountain in the North of Sardinia, and, through epidemiological and age analyzes, we assess that Bd directly affected juvenile recruitment, and it is related to difficulties in the development of the species, with an impact on the females growth.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46907088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-20DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10123
C. Dufresnes, P. Sourrouille, A. Olivier, J. Ballouard, M. Leccia, Rémi Tiné, M. Cheylan, Maxime Le Henanff, Jean Nicolas, S. Caron, G. Massez, A. Cluchier, Romain Levasseur, Fabien Pille, Olivier Peyre, M. Thibault, A. Crottini, Nicolas Fuento, P. Crochet
With five currently recognized species that form several secondary contact zones, slow worms (Anguidae: Anguis) offer a valuable model to study the fate of evolutionary lineages in the face of hybridization and genetic introgression. The relationships between the Western Slow Worm Anguis fragilis and the Italian Slow Worm Anguis veronensis are particularly puzzling. Their respective distributions remain poorly known on the edges of their parapatric ranges, as both species lack external differentiation. Contra earlier mitochondrial phylogenies, new phylogenomic inferences have shown that A. fragilis and A. veronensis are sister taxa, thus casting doubts on their specific status. In this study, we analyze the A. fragilis/veronensis transition in southeastern France, based on one mitochondrial (ND2) and two nuclear (PRLR and HA1) genetic markers in 81 specimens from 61 localities. The ranges of A. fragilis and A. veronensis roughly extends northwest and southeast of the Rhône-Durance valleys, respectively, with clear signs of introgressive hybridization in the areas of contact (notably the eastern parts of the lower Rhône valley). Based on the three molecular markers analyzed, gene flow does not seem to reach outside the narrow hybrid zone, which likely indicates (incomplete) intrinsic reproductive isolation. Hence, we provisionally suggest maintaining A. veronensis as a separate species from A. fragilis. More generally, patterns of genetic divergence, external differentiation, and hybridization (both historical and contemporary) in Anguis ssp. supports a speciation continuum spanning from cryptic, genetically compatible alloparapatric lineages to phenotypically distinct, deeply diverged and fully reproductively isolated taxa able to coexist in sympatry.
{"title":"Exploring the speciation continuum of slow worms: location and extent of the Anguis fragilis/veronensis hybrid zone in southeastern France","authors":"C. Dufresnes, P. Sourrouille, A. Olivier, J. Ballouard, M. Leccia, Rémi Tiné, M. Cheylan, Maxime Le Henanff, Jean Nicolas, S. Caron, G. Massez, A. Cluchier, Romain Levasseur, Fabien Pille, Olivier Peyre, M. Thibault, A. Crottini, Nicolas Fuento, P. Crochet","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10123","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000With five currently recognized species that form several secondary contact zones, slow worms (Anguidae: Anguis) offer a valuable model to study the fate of evolutionary lineages in the face of hybridization and genetic introgression. The relationships between the Western Slow Worm Anguis fragilis and the Italian Slow Worm Anguis veronensis are particularly puzzling. Their respective distributions remain poorly known on the edges of their parapatric ranges, as both species lack external differentiation. Contra earlier mitochondrial phylogenies, new phylogenomic inferences have shown that A. fragilis and A. veronensis are sister taxa, thus casting doubts on their specific status. In this study, we analyze the A. fragilis/veronensis transition in southeastern France, based on one mitochondrial (ND2) and two nuclear (PRLR and HA1) genetic markers in 81 specimens from 61 localities. The ranges of A. fragilis and A. veronensis roughly extends northwest and southeast of the Rhône-Durance valleys, respectively, with clear signs of introgressive hybridization in the areas of contact (notably the eastern parts of the lower Rhône valley). Based on the three molecular markers analyzed, gene flow does not seem to reach outside the narrow hybrid zone, which likely indicates (incomplete) intrinsic reproductive isolation. Hence, we provisionally suggest maintaining A. veronensis as a separate species from A. fragilis. More generally, patterns of genetic divergence, external differentiation, and hybridization (both historical and contemporary) in Anguis ssp. supports a speciation continuum spanning from cryptic, genetically compatible alloparapatric lineages to phenotypically distinct, deeply diverged and fully reproductively isolated taxa able to coexist in sympatry.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48361314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-13DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10121
Nadia Vicenzi, Natalin Vicente
Headbobbing represents one of the primary sources of communication in Iguanian lizards. Here, we describe and analyze for the first time the form and structure of the headbob display in a species of the Phymaturus genus, and compare it across sexes, social contexts, and with other species of its family. We video-recorded Phymaturus palluma adult lizards, obtained the form and structure of headbobs and evaluated the effect of sex and social context on their performing generalized linear mixed models. We found that in P. palluma, headbob is a complex display composed of several units. Headbob pattern is stereotyped, with less than 35% of variation between individuals, suggesting that it is species-specific. Moreover, units vary among sex and social context, revealing that this display is multicomponent and non-redundant following the multiple-message hypothesis. We also found that the headbob pattern was more complex than in other Liolaemidae lizards, which probably is related to the social systems registered in Phymaturus.
{"title":"Headbobing behavior in the high mountain lizard Phymaturus palluma: effects of sex and context","authors":"Nadia Vicenzi, Natalin Vicente","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10121","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Headbobbing represents one of the primary sources of communication in Iguanian lizards. Here, we describe and analyze for the first time the form and structure of the headbob display in a species of the Phymaturus genus, and compare it across sexes, social contexts, and with other species of its family. We video-recorded Phymaturus palluma adult lizards, obtained the form and structure of headbobs and evaluated the effect of sex and social context on their performing generalized linear mixed models. We found that in P. palluma, headbob is a complex display composed of several units. Headbob pattern is stereotyped, with less than 35% of variation between individuals, suggesting that it is species-specific. Moreover, units vary among sex and social context, revealing that this display is multicomponent and non-redundant following the multiple-message hypothesis. We also found that the headbob pattern was more complex than in other Liolaemidae lizards, which probably is related to the social systems registered in Phymaturus.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47038793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-06DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10122
Dylan Maag, Brian D. Greene
Pitvipers are known for their sexual dimorphism in their body size with males being larger than females. One hypothesis for the increased size of males is the selective pressure from ritualistic combat between males within a species. The Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) is a diminutive species that has not seen a lot of research outside of central Florida. This study aimed to see if a southwestern Missouri population of S. miliarius follows the typical sexual dimorphism found in pitvipers. 48 S. miliarius were captured and 27 adults were compared based on the ratios of their tail length (TL) and mass, to snout-vent length (SVL). Males had longer TL:SVL than females but were no different in their body size. Like the central Florida populations, this Missouri population doesn’t show any sexual size dimorphism. We discuss the potential implications of these findings in the context of future research and other pitviper species.
{"title":"Sexual size monomorphism of a Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) population in southwestern Missouri, USA","authors":"Dylan Maag, Brian D. Greene","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10122","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Pitvipers are known for their sexual dimorphism in their body size with males being larger than females. One hypothesis for the increased size of males is the selective pressure from ritualistic combat between males within a species. The Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) is a diminutive species that has not seen a lot of research outside of central Florida. This study aimed to see if a southwestern Missouri population of S. miliarius follows the typical sexual dimorphism found in pitvipers. 48 S. miliarius were captured and 27 adults were compared based on the ratios of their tail length (TL) and mass, to snout-vent length (SVL). Males had longer TL:SVL than females but were no different in their body size. Like the central Florida populations, this Missouri population doesn’t show any sexual size dimorphism. We discuss the potential implications of these findings in the context of future research and other pitviper species.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48237277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-21DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10120
Emmanouela Karameta, S. Sfenthourakis, P. Pafilis
As ectotherms, lizards, among the best models in thermal studies, are influenced by many abiotic factors. Interestingly, there is a scarcity of data regarding the impact that insularity may have on thermoregulation. Islands, depending their size and altitude, may differ considerably in the thermal conditions they provide to lizards. Here, we focused on a study system comprising islands that differ in morphological characteristics. We worked with four Rock Agama (Laudakia sp.) insular populations, namely Cyprus, Naxos, Delos, and Corfu. We measured body, operative and preferred temperatures and evaluated thermoregulation effectiveness (E). According to our findings, E differed among populations: Corfu received the lowest E (0.45), Cyprus and Naxos achieved median values (0.66 and 0.67, respectively) and lizards from Delos had the most effective thermoregulation (0.85). Our results underline the complex nature of insularity and its effect on saurian thermoregulation and highlight the importance of studying each insular population separately, taking into account the variable features of islands.
{"title":"Are all islands the same? A comparative thermoregulatory approach in four insular populations","authors":"Emmanouela Karameta, S. Sfenthourakis, P. Pafilis","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10120","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000As ectotherms, lizards, among the best models in thermal studies, are influenced by many abiotic factors. Interestingly, there is a scarcity of data regarding the impact that insularity may have on thermoregulation. Islands, depending their size and altitude, may differ considerably in the thermal conditions they provide to lizards. Here, we focused on a study system comprising islands that differ in morphological characteristics. We worked with four Rock Agama (Laudakia sp.) insular populations, namely Cyprus, Naxos, Delos, and Corfu. We measured body, operative and preferred temperatures and evaluated thermoregulation effectiveness (E). According to our findings, E differed among populations: Corfu received the lowest E (0.45), Cyprus and Naxos achieved median values (0.66 and 0.67, respectively) and lizards from Delos had the most effective thermoregulation (0.85). Our results underline the complex nature of insularity and its effect on saurian thermoregulation and highlight the importance of studying each insular population separately, taking into account the variable features of islands.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49089794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10119
C. Buteler, C. Bardier, M. Cabrera, Yaco Gonzalez, G. Vélez-Rubio
Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods are widely used to estimate population parameters and to collect data on animal demography, migration, and life history. Sea turtle research programs generally use artificial tags, an invasive method. Photo-identification (PID) methods have become an important tool for animal identification. Herein, we assessed the effectiveness of a PID method for marking green turtles (Chelonia mydas) compared to traditional methods (artificial tags). As a part of a long-term CMR study, green turtles have been tagged and photographed since 2001. We analyzed 1917 captures with left and right side photographs of tagged turtles using Wild-ID software, these results were compared with tag-recapture data to assess error rates (false positives and negatives), and different effectiveness metrics. A combination of PID and tags (a match from either method was considered a recapture) was the most error-free and efficient criterion for identification of recaptures; however, it was the most time consuming and invasive criterion as well. We also assessed the effect of image quality indicators on the error rates of PID. We found that turtle cleanliness increases the similarity of images (indirectly related to false negatives), but we found no effect of sharpness, angle, light condition, or width and height in pixels of images on error rates. We could conclude that if image quality is improved, tags could be substituted by PID. However, we strongly recommend researchers to consider local situations (occurrence of by-catch or stranded dead turtles, for which tags are still necessary) before deciding to apply only PID.
{"title":"To tag ornot to tag: comparative performance of tagging and photo-identification in a long-term mark-recapture of Juvenile Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas)","authors":"C. Buteler, C. Bardier, M. Cabrera, Yaco Gonzalez, G. Vélez-Rubio","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10119","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods are widely used to estimate population parameters and to collect data on animal demography, migration, and life history. Sea turtle research programs generally use artificial tags, an invasive method. Photo-identification (PID) methods have become an important tool for animal identification. Herein, we assessed the effectiveness of a PID method for marking green turtles (Chelonia mydas) compared to traditional methods (artificial tags). As a part of a long-term CMR study, green turtles have been tagged and photographed since 2001. We analyzed 1917 captures with left and right side photographs of tagged turtles using Wild-ID software, these results were compared with tag-recapture data to assess error rates (false positives and negatives), and different effectiveness metrics. A combination of PID and tags (a match from either method was considered a recapture) was the most error-free and efficient criterion for identification of recaptures; however, it was the most time consuming and invasive criterion as well. We also assessed the effect of image quality indicators on the error rates of PID. We found that turtle cleanliness increases the similarity of images (indirectly related to false negatives), but we found no effect of sharpness, angle, light condition, or width and height in pixels of images on error rates. We could conclude that if image quality is improved, tags could be substituted by PID. However, we strongly recommend researchers to consider local situations (occurrence of by-catch or stranded dead turtles, for which tags are still necessary) before deciding to apply only PID.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48389391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10117
B. Jellen, R. Aldridge, Michelle Hollon, Maja Sadikovic, G. Camilo
Many taxa utilise chemosensation as their primary sensory modality and communicate with one another using pheromones. Sex-attractant pheromones facilitate mate location and provide information regarding the reproductive status of the potential mate. Snakes have adaptively radiated to many different habitats, some of which preclude the possibility of depositing a continuous terrestrial pheromone trail (e.g., arboreal, semi-aquatic). We suggest that volatile signals are present in species inhabiting such environments. The majority of investigations into snake sex-attractant pheromones have examined terrestrial species, largely ignoring non-terrestrial species and their signal modality. We examined the potential existence of terrestrial and volatile signals in the northern watersnake (Nerodia sipedon) with a modified Y-maze. During the mating period, males of this semi-aquatic species successfully trailed both the terrestrial and volatile signals from estrous females but did not successfully trail the terrestrial or volatile signals from non-estrous females and other males. Whether a single multimodal sex-attractant pheromone (or multiple sex-attractant pheromones) produced this result remains unknown. However, we feel future investigations into the volatile nature of sex-attractant pheromones in the Ophidia would prove fruitful; particularly for arboreal, aquatic, and semi-aquatic taxa providing a greater understanding of communication and mating system dynamics.
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