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Ch 7 (old book)– Wildlife Marking Techniques
Ch 13 (2005 Book)
26 August 2009
Figure numbers and pages refer to old book unless stated otherwise.
Mark Selection
- animals must often be marked for individual recognition for a particular study
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must meet professional and humane standards
must allow study objectives to be met
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things to consider before you decide on mark selection—
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period of time mark must last
distance at which animals must be identified
the need for individual recognition
how quickly animals must be marked
time available for identifying marked animals
effect of mark on the animal’s behavior and survival
a desirable marking techniques should meet the following criteria—
o involve minimal pain, stress
o produce no adverse effects on behavior or survival
o display good retention and durability characteristics
o be easy to recognize
o be easy to apply
o be easy to obtain and assemble
o be relatively inexpensive
Marker Retention
Temporary Marks – streamers, adhesive tapes, nocturnal lights, and marks lost during
subsequent molts; feather and fur clipping, dyes, and paints – all lost eventually
Semipermanent Marks
Some tags and collars- some can last the life of the animal- depends on durability of the
material
Permanent Marks – branding, tattooing, ear notching, toe clipping—marks last a
lifetime, but scarring, tearing, or aging might reduce their effectiveness
Might use a combination of permanent and non-permanent marks (e.g., on prairie dogs,
we ear tag for permanent marking and use hair dye for short-term recognition)
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Marker Recognition
Do you need to recognize animal from a distance?
Will you need to recapture animal in order to see the marker?
Marks can be made for individual or group recognition
Make sure markers are colorfast, fade resistant, etc.
Species-Specific Attributes
Consider behavioral and anatomical features of a species
You do not want to influence behavior or survival of animal
Certain ways of marking are usually used with particular species – e.g., leg bands on
birds as opposed to toe-clipping in mice
Adverse Effects
Proper design, fitting, and testing of markers on captive animals beforehand is often
helpful
Beware of interfering with animal’s behavior/mating rituals, icing or entanglement
Marking Permits
Appropriate federal, state, provincial permits must be obtained before capturing and
marking
Marking Techniques for Mammals
Tags - for ear, web, flippers --- see Fig. 1, p. 142
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usually made of metal or plastic and stamped with identifying numbers
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tags must be applied properly so as not to cut off circulation
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must not impede movement
Neck Collars and Related Bands – see Figs 2, 3, p. 143
(New book = Figs. 2, 3, 5, pages 344-345)
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may be fixed in size or expansible to allow for growth
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made of various materials
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must not impede feeding, circulation, or breathing or cause entanglement
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sometimes expansible collars are used if the animal is young and growing
Arm Bands
Bats – attach bands to forearms – see Fig. 4, p. 144
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avoid banding during hibernation because it is energetically critical period; in the
past, banding during hibernation has contributed to a decline in bat numbers
because the bats do not have enough fat stored to withstand being disturbed
Dorsal Fin, Back, and Related Techniques
Discovery marks, small stainless steel projectiles with identifying information stamped
on them, have been used to mark commercially valuable species of whales since the
1920’s
Projectile is shot from shotgun and embeds in whale; marks are subsequently recovered
in harvested whales and have provided information on movement and growth
Discovery marks are not visible on live whales, so their use will decline with reduction in
whaling activity
Spaghetti tag – modified discovery tag – a strip of vinyl is attached to an anchor rivet
behind the head of the mark
Spaghetti tags – have been used to mark large numbers of small cetaceans without the
need to capture them (also used on manatees)
Dorsal fin tags – various methods to hold them on include bolting tags on right through
the fin
- problems with dorsal fin tags include migration of the tags, injury to the dorsal
fin, and covering the tag with algae
Tapes, Streamers, and Bells
Colored streamers made from plastic, nylon, and nylon-coated fabrics have been used to
visibly mark ungulate species by attachment to ears, horns, Achilles tendons, or to other
marking devices
Secured by such methods as steel barbs, nylon darts with adjoining flukes, umbrella
anchors, and anchor rivets
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Bells have been used on deer and collared peccaries to facilitate locating them; however,
must be careful that bells do not attract predators
Transponders
PIT = “passive integrated transponder” tags – (New book = Fig. 14, p. 355)
Transponder tags consist of an electromagnetic coil and a custom-designed microchip
that emits an analog signal when excited by a scanning wand with electromagnetic
energy
Tags are implanted subcutaneously with a spring-loaded syringe
Chip is activated only when energized, so it can last a long time
Disadvantage is that you have to be close to animal to get a reading, maybe even
recapture it; however, you can put a reader tube inside burrow, nest, etc. to get reading.
Mutilation
Branding –
hot branding – seldom used today (painful, can cause open wounds, infection)
freeze branding = cryo-branding – branding irons are supercooled, often in mixture of
dry ice and 95% methanol (-67-77 C) or liquid nitrogen (-196 C), then placed on a shaved
and washed are of the skin
- epidermis is temporarily frozen (about 20-30 seconds), destroying the
pigment-producing melanocytes in the hair follicles cause regrowth of white
instead of colored hair
Tatoos –
Best results when tattooing lightly pigmented areas that are essentially hairless
Disadvantage – often have to have the animal in hand to read tattoo
Often used along with other more conspicuous methods of marking
Tissue Removal
Toe-clipping – used to individually mark small mammals; must be careful to limit the
number of toes/foot clipped so as not to impede movement, grooming, etc; infection can
set in – in some animals, antibiotics or other preventative treatment might be necessary
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Disadvantage – can’t distinguish if toe was cut or lost due to accident, injury, etc
Ear punching, clipping – small portion of tissue is cut and/or removed; must be careful
of infection; never for use on animals with higly-specialized ears (e.g., bats, seals)
Punched holes or slits cut into foot webs have been used beavers and nutria; probably
could also be used on muskrats
- marks are permanent, but unclean cutting can result in scar instead of hole
Fur removal (in a particular pattern) – mechanical clippers, chemical substance, heat
Dyes and Paints
Used as temporary external markers to identify mammals at a distance
Can be applied directly to immobilized or trapped animals or from a distance with a
paint-pellet pistol
Nyanzol, Rhodamine B, and picric acid dissolved in ethyl or isopropyl alcohol – used
to mark terrestrial mammals
Rhodamine B – when consumed orally, it acts as an internal marker, coloring
gallbladder, gut, feces, urine, and oral and urogenital openings - can be used as a
nonquantitative method for tracing bait consumption
Read about other internal markers
Particle Markers
Fluorescent pigments – powder is placed on fur of small mammals; particles fall off as
they move around; you can trace their movements my using a UV light at night to follow
the trail because the particles give off a glow
Microtaggants, small, plastic particles that are coded by means of colored layers, have
been tested and proposed as a means of identifying acute toxicants in digestive tracts and
baits without chemical analysis
Chemical Markers
Certain members of the tetracycline group of antibiotics (given orally or intravenously)
combine with calcium in the bones and teeth of mammals to produce a characteristic
yellow fluorescence under UV light
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Radioactive Markers
Before using a particular isotope, you must consider its availability, type of radiation,
energy levels emitted, physical and biological half-life, radiotoxicity, and metabolic
characteristics
Nocturnal Tracking Lights
Light sources attached to animals allow them to be visually tracked at night – can be
chemical, electrical, or radioactive types of light – sometimes used with radiotelemetry
Evidence suggests that the use of optical light sources does not increase risk of predation,
but the potential does exist
Bats – constant light source may cause undue stress
Natural Markings
This works best when numbers of animals are limited, they occupy a well-defined area,
and where minimal immigration occurs
Sometimes used when it is difficult to capture/handle animals or is not desirable for some
reason
Rhinoceros – they have used ear markings, shape of horn, wrinkle pattern, sex, and size
Giraffe – coat patterns
Primates – facial features along with other characteristics
Dolphins and whales – fin notches, color patterns, scars, and callosities
Marking Techniques for Birds
Leg bands often used – see Fig. 9, p. 150 (New book = Figs. 7, 8, p. 345)
States and provinces are required to use their own bands for resident game birds, but
bands for migratory birds are issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the
Canadian Wildlife Service
Wing Markers
Commonly used on birds - see Fig. 10, p. 151
Neckbands and Collars
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See Fig 11, p. 152
Have been used on geese, swans, sandhill cranes, ring-necked pheasants, and scaled quail
Not appropriate for ducks – they have been associated with how retention and high
marker-related mortality
Tags
Nasal Tags – nasal discs and saddles have been used extensively to mark waterfowl – see
Fig. 12, p. 152 (New book = Fig. 9, p. 347)
Back Tags – designed to lie on the back – usually attached by a harness whose straps
pass around each wing base (New book = Fig. 10, p. 348)
Web Tags – used on wood ducks that were too small for a leg band – they attached
fingerling fish tags to the center of the web of newly hatched young; someone else used
the technique to mark pipped eggs of ground-nesting species
Mutilation
Feather clipping – done in various patterns; must be careful it does not affect flight
Tissue removal – punch holes in web of penguins; disadvantage is bird must be
recaptured to read the marks
Toenail clipping – used on eastern kingbirds and eastern phoebes, tree swallows, and
house wrens
Tattooing - in birds of prey, has been used on underside of the wing close to bodyvisible only when wing is opened; Nestling startlings – tattoo dots were placed on
abdomen- not legible after feathers grow back
Freeze Branding - does not seem to be widely used – someone used it on the
premaxillae of ducklings – suggested as a temporary marker for ducklings
Dyes, Paints, Inks
Marks are usually temporary and lost during the following molt
Food dyes have been injected into eggs to temporary mark the soon-to-be hatchling
Human hair dye – used to mark golden eagles
Airplane paint – has been used
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Must be careful the material used is not toxic and does not affect behavior, flight, mating
rituals, etc
Feather Imping and Similar Techniques
Imping is the insertion of a colored feather into the clipped shaft of a bird’s feather; a
double-ended needle or cement secures the feather
Retrices usually used, but remiges can be imped if the replacement feather closely
matches the clipped feather
Not satisfactory for passerines – can’t see marker very well, few color combinations, time
involved
Waterfowl – painting with airplane paint works better
Particle, Chemical, and Radioactive Marks
Read—similar to use in mammals
Nocturnal Tracking Lights
Read – similar to use in mammals
Natural Markings
Particular plumage or bill patterns can be used to ID individuals
Egg Markers
Colored plastic tape attached to apex of egg – has been used to mark ring-billed birds
Marking pens have been used on eggs from a number of species – but the toxicity has
not been studied- use with caution
Marking Methods for Amphibians and Reptiles
Read this section – mostly the same methods used in birds and mammals:
Natural Markings
External Marks
Branding
Hot Branding
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Chemical Branding
Freeze Branding
Laser Marking
Tattoos
Tissue Removal
Toe/tail Clipping
Skin Transplantation
Shell Notching - turtles
Scale Clipping and Related Techniques
Tagging
Jaw Tagging – used on toads, some snakes – not widely used it seems
Neck Collars and Related Bands
Web/Flipper Markers
Leg Bands
Body Tags and Related Techniques - read
- turtles – tags fastened through holes drilled in carapace
Tapes, Streamers, and Bells
Trailing Devices
- turtles –attach spool of thread on their backs and trace movements
Dyes and Paints
Internal Markers
Stains
Particle Markers
Radioactive Markers
Transponders