I am developing research on wood frog (Rana [Lithobates] sylvatica) dispersal patterns among ponds. Ideally, I would like to be able to identify the natal ponds of individual breeding adult frogs in order to determine whether they are philopatric (breeding in their birth pond) or have dispersed. I could toe clip all emerging metamorphs at each pond, but the time involved may be prohibitive and would require the construction of drift fences around every pond. Does anyone know of a technique for marking tadpoles in large numbers that will persist 2 or more years, with the capability of 10+ unique marks? Thank you!
Bradley Evan Carlson
