Effects of Toe Clipping on Survival, Recapture, and Return Rates of Jefferson Salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) in Ontario, Canada

McCarthy, Michael A.; Weller, Wayne F.; Parris, Kirsten M.

doi:10.1670/08-096r2.1

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Researchers may also clip amphibian body parts for mark-recapture studies [ 5 , 6 ], stable isotope analysis [ 7 , 8 ],or for obtaining tissue sample for genetic studies. Invasive and non-invasive techniques for sampling amphibian DNA include: tail clipping [ 9 ], toe clipping [ 10 ], blood puncture [ 11 ], skin swabbing [ 12 ], and buccal swabbing [ 13 ]. The applicability and efficiency of these methods vary among species but most are not suitable for sampling DNA from early development larval stages due to their small size and handling sensitivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Tail Clipping on Larval Performance and Tail Regeneration Rates in the Near Eastern Fire Salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata

et al. 2015

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Tail-tip clipping is a common technique for collecting tissue samples from amphibian larvae and adults. Surprisingly, studies of this invasive sampling procedure or of natural tail clipping – i.e., bites inflicted by predators including conspecifics - on the performance and fitness of aquatic larval stages of urodeles are scarce. We conducted two studies in which we assessed the effects of posterior tail clipping (~30 percent of tail) on Near Eastern fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata) larvae. In a laboratory study, we checked regeneration rates of posterior tail-tip clipping at different ages. Regeneration rates were hump-shaped, peaking at the age of ~30 days and then decreasing. This variation in tail regeneration rates suggests tradeoffs in resource allocation between regeneration and somatic growth during early and advanced development. In an outdoor artificial pond experiment, under constant larval densities, we assessed how tail clipping of newborn larvae affects survival to, time to, and size at metamorphosis. Repeated measures ANOVA on mean larval survival per pond revealed no effect of tail clipping. Tail clipping had correspondingly no effect on larval growth and development expressed in size (mass and snout-vent length) at, and time to, metamorphosis. We conclude that despite the given variation in tail regeneration rates throughout larval ontogeny, clipping of 30% percent of the posterior tail area seems to have no adverse effects on larval fitness and survival. We suggest that future use of this imperative tool for the study of amphibian should take into account larval developmental stage during the time of application and not just the relative size of the clipped tail sample.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Tail Clipping on Larval Performance and Tail Regeneration Rates in the Near Eastern Fire Salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata

et al. 2015

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“…Criticism for the use of these marking techniques, particularly for amphibians and reptiles, has grown markedly since McCarthy and Parris () showed that recapture rates of frogs decrease by 4–11% for each toe removed. A similar detrimental effect has also been found in salamanders, which are either less likely to be recaptured or have a decreased growth rate when toes are removed (Davis and Ovaska , McCarthy et al ). However, other studies have found no effect of toe‐clipping in frogs (Lüddecke and Amézquita ), salamanders (Ott and Scott ), lizards (Borges‐Landáez and Shine ), crocodilians (Jennings et al ), or mammals (Fisher and Blomberg ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 62%

Effects of tail‐clipping on survivorship and growth of larval salamanders

Polich

Searcy

Shaffer³

2013

J Wildl Manag

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Tissue samples used for genetic analyses are increasingly necessary for proper management of rare or endangered species, yet growing evidence suggests that traditional methods used to sample or mark amphibians have detrimental fitness effects. We used a semi‐natural mesocosm experiment to determine the effect of larval tail‐clipping on growth and survival of the endangered California tiger salamander. Even with relatively extreme levels of tail loss, we found no effect on survival, mass, or snout‐vent length. We recommend larval tail‐clipping as a low‐impact method for collecting tissue samples from pond‐breeding amphibians. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

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“…We note several caveats concerning our method. As with any tagging study, there is some danger that individuals with telemetry tags will behave or survive differently (McCarthy, Weller & Parris 2009). We found no evidence for tag-induced mortality within the short period of our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating population size in the presence of temporary migration using a joint analysis of telemetry and capture–recapture data

et al. 2014

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Summary1. Temporary migration -where individuals can leave and re-enter a sampled population -is a feature of many capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies of mobile populations which, if unaccounted for, can lead to biased estimates of population capture probabilities and consequently biased estimates of population abundance. 2. We present a method for incorporating radiotelemetry data within a CMR study to eliminate bias due to temporary migration using a Bayesian state-space model. 3. Our results indicate that using a relatively small number of telemetry tags, it is possible to greatly reduce bias in estimates of capture probabilities using telemetry data to model transition probabilities in and out of the sampling area. In a capture-recapture data set for trout Cod in the Murray river, Australia, accounting for temporary migration led to overall higher estimates of capture probabilities than models assuming permanent or zero migration. Also, individual heterogeneity in detectability can be managed through explicit modelling. We show how accounting for temporary migration when estimating capture probabilities can be used to estimate the abundance and size distribution of a population as though it were closed. 4. Our model provides a basis for more complex models that might integrate telemetry data into other CMR scenarios, thus allowing for greater precision in estimates of vital rates that might otherwise be biased by temporary migration. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for migration in survey design and parameter estimation, and the potential scope for supplementing large-scale CMR data sets with a subset of auxiliary data that provide information on processes that are hidden to primary sampling processes.

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Effects of Toe Clipping on Survival, Recapture, and Return Rates of Jefferson Salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) in Ontario, Canada

Cited by 18 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of Tail Clipping on Larval Performance and Tail Regeneration Rates in the Near Eastern Fire Salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata

Effects of Tail Clipping on Larval Performance and Tail Regeneration Rates in the Near Eastern Fire Salamander, Salamandra infraimmaculata

Effects of tail‐clipping on survivorship and growth of larval salamanders

Estimating population size in the presence of temporary migration using a joint analysis of telemetry and capture–recapture data

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