Techniques for Marking Amphibians

Several methods are available for marking adult salamanders and anurans (see Ferner 1979). The type of system used depends on the size and natural history of the target organism as well as time and resources. Some marking methods require special equipment, training, or permits from state or national wildlife agencies. Marks can be permanent, temporary, datespecific, or individual-specific. Long-term studies of populations require that marks be permanent. Temporary marks can be used if information on behavior over the course of a day or night is required (Jacobson 1985), Date-specific marks (all animals are given identical marks during a sample period) can be applied more rapidly in the field than individualspecific marks, and it is simpler to take data from recaptured animals marked by date. Most population estimators accommodate the use of date-specific marks. If a project requires detailed infomiation on space-use patterns or growth rates in addition to an estimate of population size, individual-specific marks must be used.