Herpetologists often need to individually identify the specimen involved in their studies. Several marking techniques have been developed and employed over the decades, but most of them are potentially harmful and ethically questionable, especially when applied to vulnerable species. Photographic recognition by image comparison is a valuable alternative, but is time consuming and prone to misidentification when performed by human operators. 

In recent years, software solutions have emerged to automate image comparison of living organisms, but most of them have been specifically developed for one or a few species to optimize their performance. Their application to different species therefore requires validation. 

The findings of a paper published in 2016 on Acta Herpetologica described an advancement that streamlines research efforts while minimizing potential harm to study subjects.In the study, the freeware software I3S Pattern was tested for its efficiency in identifying Italian crested newts (Triturus carnifex) based on their ventral pattern, using 324 adult individuals collected in spring 2014 in the Groane Regional Park in Lombardy (Northern Italy).

The study showed that the software correctly and reliably identified individual Italian crested newts of both sexes, making it a reliable tool for capture-mark-recapture studies. After proper calibration of the number of points of interest to be compared in the images, the use of I3P Pattern can be successfully extended to other amphibian species with complex patterns composed of large, irregular spots that are difficult to match by eye. 

Read the full paper to find out more.

See you in two weeks!