Identification Method

What is your tattoo ink telling you?

Tattooing traumatizes the skin, which can result in microbial infections with the severity ranging from minor to life-threating septicemia. Additionally, the metals in colored tattoo ink are known to cause dermal inflammation in some people. In the laboratory animal research...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Young, T., Whiteside, T., Locklear, J. 2020. What is your tattoo ink telling you? Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(2) (March/April), 62-65.

Towards more compassionate wildlife research through the 3Rs principles: Moving from invasive to noninvasive methods

Research in ecology and wildlife biology remains crucial for increasing our knowledge and improving species management and conservation in the midst of the current biodiversity crisis. However, obtaining information on population status often involves invasive sampling of a certain number...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Identification Method, RestraintAnimal Type: All/General, Amphibian, Crocodile & Alligator, Fish, Frog & Toad, Lizard, Nonhuman Primate, Other Animal, Other Fish, Reptile, Salamander, Snake, Turtle & Tortoise

Citation: Zemanova, M. A. 2020. Towards more compassionate wildlife research through the 3Rs principles: Moving from invasive to noninvasive methods. Wildlife Biology 2020(1), no page numbers.

Skin swabbing is a refined technique to collect DNA from model fish species

Model fish species such as sticklebacks and zebrafish are frequently used in studies that require DNA to be collected from live animals. This is typically achieved by fin clipping, a procedure that is simple and reliable to perform but that...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Tilley, C. A., Carreño Gutierrez, H., Sebire, M. et al. 2020. Skin swabbing is a refined technique to collect DNA from model fish species. Scientific Reports 10(1), 18212.

Buccal swab based genotyping of genetically modified mice

Routine sample collection for genotyping genetically modified animals (rodents) (GMAs) typically includes tail snip, toe clip, or ear biopsy. To decrease the potential pain and distress caused by tissue sample collection for genetic analysis, we desired to use a nonsurgical...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Huang, J., Kayne, P. S. 2020. Buccal swab based genotyping of genetically modified mice. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(5) (September/October), 64-66.

Long-term retention of dummy acoustic transmitters in adult brown trout

A group of 36 1+ age class Salmo trutta were surgically implanted with dummy acoustic tags and monitored for 370 days. In total 13 tags were expelled throughout the experiment with an overall tag loss rate of c. 0.035 tags...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Fish, Trout

Citation: Kennedy, R. J., Evans, D., Allen, M. 2020. Long-term retention of dummy acoustic transmitters in adult brown trout. Journal of Fish Biology 97(4), 1281–1284.

Managed care of naked mole-rats

Naked mole-rats are a burgeoning model species in the field of biomedical research and are also housed at many zoos throughout the world. These mammals possess many traits that have a large impact on the way that they are kept...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Identification Method, Rearing & Weaning, Relocation & Transport, Reproduction, Restraint, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Smith, M., Buffenstein, R. 2021. Managed care of naked mole-rats. In: R. Buffenstein, T. J. Park, M. M. Holmes (Eds.), The Extraordinary Biology of the Naked Mole-Rat. Springer International Publishing, pp. 381–407.

Managed care of naked mole-rats

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Identification Method, Natural Behavior, Rearing & Weaning, Relocation & Transport, Reproduction, RestraintAnimal Type: Mole Rat, Rodent

Citation: Smith, M., Buffenstein, R. 2021. Managed care of naked mole-rats. In: R. Buffenstein, T. J. Park, & M. M. Holmes (Eds.), The Extraordinary Biology of the Naked Mole-Rat (pp. 381–407). Springer International Publishing.

Advancing non-human primate welfare: An automated facial recognition system for unrestrained cynomolgus monkeys (2025)

Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) are vital in biomedical research, particularly for drug development and studying neurological diseases. However, accurately identifying individuals in group housing environments remains a significant challenge. This paper presents a near real-time facial recognition system tailored for...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Numata, Y., Sumali, B., Hayashida, K. et al. 2025. Advancing non-human primate welfare: An automated facial recognition system for unrestrained cynomolgus monkeys. PLOS ONE 20(4), e0319897.

Non-invasive sampling methods for genotyping: Improvements towards the 4r principle

In research involving genetically modified mice which is usually to perform genotyping using invasive ear or tail biopsies in 92% of cases, there is a growing shift towards non-invasive sampling techniques such as oral swabs, hair, faeces and tears. Our...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Identification MethodAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Thasian-Sivarajah, S., Mohr, R., Walter, M. et al. 2024. Non-invasive sampling methods for genotyping: Improvements towards the 4r principle. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(2), 133–136.

Standard methods for marking caudate amphibians do not impair animal welfare over the short term: An experimental approach

Major advancements in ecology and biodiversity conservation have been made thanks to methods for marking and individually tracking animals. Marking animals is both widely used and controversial due to the potential consequences for animal welfare, which are often incompletely evaluated...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Handling, Identification MethodAnimal Type: Amphibian, Salamander

Citation: Daversa, D. R., Baxter, E., Rosa, G. M. et al. 2024. Standard methods for marking caudate amphibians do not impair animal welfare over the short term: An experimental approach. Animal Welfare 33, e24.