Plant and animal tagging methods encompass a range of techniques used to individually mark organisms for identification, tracking, and data collection in ecological and behavioral research. Approaches include physical tags (e.g., ear tags, leg bands, collars, PIT/ RFID tags, satellite or GPS transmitters), chemical or molecular markers (e.g., stable isotopes, genetic tags), and minimally invasive plant markers (e.g., coded tags on stems or branches). Method selection is constrained by species biology, tag retention, effects on fitness and behavior, environmental conditions, and data-resolution requirements, and is typically accompanied by rigorous ethical, welfare, and permitting considerations in wildlife and conservation studies.
On a pristine Rhode Island beach teeming with noisy seabirds, a group of biologists armed with nets sneak up on a pair of American oystercatcher chicks.
Ecology
Jul 20, 2026
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A recent study reveals geographic biases in how aquatic animals have been tracked and researched across the globe, with a preference toward politically stable, English-speaking countries with high conservation funding. Researchers ...
Ecology
Jul 9, 2026
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10
A smartwatch can tell us the level of oxygen in our blood, when our sleep is restless or the number of steps we take in a day. Now imagine that kind of tracking ability for plants. By the time farmers see curling leaves or ...
Biotechnology
Jul 9, 2026
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22
Sheep farmers could soon be able to estimate their flock's live weight and fleece weight in real time, without the need for labor-intensive handling. The new system, being developed by CSIRO, Australia's national science ...
Agriculture
Jul 6, 2026
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8
Bugs run rampant in the summer, and if you have ever suffered a mosquito bite and regretted not putting on bug spray, you should know about nature's insect repellent: the Indiana bat. Federally endangered since 1967, the ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 1, 2026
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18
New research indicates that sea turtles seem to navigate across hundreds of miles of open ocean using Earth's magnetic field. Previous experimental studies suggested that sea turtles use geomagnetism to navigate, but this ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 25, 2026
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13
Darin McNeil, Ph.D., an assistant professor of wildlife management in the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and others to help ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2026
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14
It's an insect everybody loves to hate. Pesky mosquitoes will be out in swarms as the weather warms up across the U.S.—and their bites aren't just itchy. They can transmit pathogens that can cause diseases like West Nile ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 13, 2026
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Lesser black-backed gulls from the colony on the Dutch island of Neeltje Jans appear to avoid the wind farm off the Zeeland coast, with the exception of some males. NIOZ ecologist Rosemarie Kentie and her colleagues suspected ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 9, 2026
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10
A multi-year research project has provided new insight into greater amberjack. The Greater Amberjack Count was led by Sean P. Powers, Ph.D., fisheries ecology professor and Director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 3, 2026
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