Applying computer-aided photo-identification to messy datasets: a case study of Thornicroft’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis thornicrofti)
Digital photography enables researchers to rapidly compile large quantities of data from individually identifiable animals, and computer software improves the management of such large datasets while aiding the identification process. Wild-ID software has performed well with uniform datasets controlling for angle and portion of the animal photographed; however, few datasets are collected under such controlled […]
Three-gene PCR and high-resolution melting analysis for differentiating vertebrate species mitochondrial DNA for biodiversity research and complementing forensic surveillance
Reliable molecular identification of vertebrate species from morphologically unidentifiable tissue is critical for the prosecution of illegally-traded wildlife products, conservation-based biodiversity research, and identification of blood-meal hosts of hematophagous invertebrates. However, forensic identification of vertebrate tissue relies on sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) ‘barcode’ gene, which remains costly for purposes of screening […]
Revisiting giraffe photo-identification using deep learning and network analysis
An increasing number of research programs rely on photographic capture-recapture (vs. direct marking) of individuals to study distribution and demography within animal populations. Photo-identification of individuals living in the wild is sometimes feasible using idiosyncratic coat or skin patterns, like for giraffes. When performed manually, the task is tedious and becomes almost impossible as populations […]
An automated program to find animals and crop photographs for individual recognition
Detailed data on individual animals are critical to ecological and evolutionary studies, but attaching identifying marks can alter individual fates and behavior leading to biases in parameter estimates and ethical issues. Individual-recognition software has been developed to assist in identifying many species from non-invasive photographic data. These programs utilize algorithms to find unique individual characteristics […]