PIT Tagging: Simple Technology at Its Best
J. WHITFIELD GIBBONS AND KIMBERLY M. ANDREWS
Since their first use in the mid-l980s, passive integrated transponder
devices (PIT tags) have allowed innovative investigations into numerous
biological traits of animals. The tiny, coded markers injected into individual
animals allow assessment of growth rates, movement patterns, and survivorship
for many species in a manner more reliable than traditional approaches
of externally marking animals for identification. PIT tags have also been
used to confirm the identity of zoo animals, pets, and protected species
that have been illegally removed from the wild. New approaches with PIT
tags herald advances in physiology and conservation biology, as well as
greater understanding of social interactions among individuals in a population.
Despite their current limitations, including high purchase cost, low detection
distance, and potential tag loss in some circumstances, PIT tags offer
many opportunities to unravel animal mysteries that heretofore could not
be addressed effectively.
Keywords: animal, mark-recapture, microchip,pm, PIT tag,
tagging
SREL Reprint #2738
Gibbons, J. W. and K. M. Andrews. 2004. PIT tagging: Simple technology at its best. BioScience 54:447-454.
