title: Photo-identification as a simple tool for studying invasive lionfish Pterois volitans populations.
abstract: Photo-tagging, i.e. using a specific software to match colour patterns on photographs, was tested as a means to identify individual Indo-Pacific Pterois volitans to assist with population and movement studies of this invasive species. The stripe pattern on the flank of adult P. volitans (n = 48) was the most individually distinctive of three body regions tested, leading to correct individual identification on 68 and 82% of tests with a single and two images of the reference individual, respectively. Photo-tagging is inexpensive, logistically simple and can involve citizen scientists, making it a viable alternative to traditional tagging to provide information on P. volitans distribution, movement patterns and recolonization rates after removals.
authors.affiliation: CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasilia, DF 70040-020, Brazil.|Tropical Conservation Consortium, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, U.S.A.|Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: L C T
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.affiliation: Tropical Conservation Consortium, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, U.S.A.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Tropical Conservation Consortium, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, U.S.A.|Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50670-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: J L L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Feitosa
authors.affiliation: Earth to Ocean Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Côté
mesh_terms: D000823:Animal Identification Systems; D000818:Animals; D058865:Introduced Species; D010473:Perciformes; D010781:Photography; D012984:Software
keywords: I3S Pattern; capture-mark-recapture studies; citizen science; photo-tagging