Shot the spots: A reliable field method for individual identification of Amolops formosus (Anura, Ranidae)

• Main Authors: Naitik G. Patel, Abhijit Das
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2020-03-01
• Series: Herpetozoa
• Online Access: https://herpetozoa.pensoft.net/article/47279/download/pdf/

Natural body patterns in amphibians are widely used for individual recognition. In this study, we photographed individuals of Amolops formosus for four days of sampling without handling them. We processed 301 photographs of dorsal blotch pattern in HotSpotter software and verified them visually for confirmation. We identified 160 unique individuals of A. formosus based on the images taken in the field, resulting in an abundance estimate of 180 individuals. The success rate in identifying individuals of A. formosus using the HotSpotter software was 94.3%. We tested the effect of image quality and distance on recognition efficiency. Poor image quality reduced the recognition efficiency of the software but with a careful user review it was possible to identify the individual. The difference between using only the software and software plus human confirmation was very small. This protocol is useful for rapid population estimation of frogs with natural body patterns.