We will present a way to identify amphibians from photographs: we can identify each individual toad or newt from their abdominal pattern – just as we can identify each human from fingerprints. Sometimes, it’s easy because toads have a distinctive pattern of black and yellow spots on their abdomen; sometimes, it’s more challenging, and researchers have to use different software to help them. Participants will be able to discover this for themselves with the help of the exciting game “White Urška”.
Why do we do it at all? Through tagging and photo identification, we can estimate the abundance of populations of endangered groups of animals, such as amphibians. This contributes to a better knowledge of biodiversity, especially in the case of threatened species, as similar methods can be used for other groups of animals (e.g. beetles, butterflies). In the workshop, we will also discuss the causes of species endangerment.