Assessment of disc clipping on the survival and behavior of the andean frog Hyla labialis

We carried out a mark-recapture study of a highland population of the hog Hyla labialis, and assessed some demographic and behavioral consequences of our marking procedure, which consisted of clipping a unique combination of one or more discs from one or more fingers and/or toes of an individual frog. The immediate health hazards of disc dipping were minor. No regeneration occurred; thus marks were permanent. Recapture rate for adult males was 60%, for females 40%, and for juvenile frogs 6%. The number of discs removed (up to seven per individual) did not differentially affect recapture rate of males and females, nor their locomotory performance, site fidelity, or homing ability. The removal of finger discs affected neither reproductive activity of adult frogs nor the clasping ability of males. We conclude that disc clipping is an adequate marking technique For demographic and behavioral studies of Hyla labialis.