Recapturing Vipera ursinii: Photo-Identification and HDF Telemetry in a Meadow Viper Population from Maiella National Park, Italy
(2026) Diversity — Vol. 18, n° 4, p. 202 (2026)
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- Authors
Marini, Daniele 
Ferri, Vincenzo Funk, Alice Gialdini, Oscar
- Abstract
- Reliable individual identification and minimally invasive tracking are essential for monitoring threatened snake populations. A relict high-altitude population of Vipera ursinii ursinii was studied in the Maiella National Park (Central Apennines, Italy) during two field seasons (2024-2025) to (i) validate dorsal head photo-identification against unequivocal PIT-tag identities and (ii) test a novel, non-invasive telemetry method based on externally attached harmonic diodes detected with a RECCO ® harmonic direction finder (HDF). All analysed snakes were PIT-tagged and photographed under standardised conditions. Manual photo-identification based on dorsal cephalic scale counts was performed independently by four blinded operators. In parallel, software-assisted photo-identification was conducted with two independent programmes (Wild-ID and Hotspotter). Both methods were evaluated exclusively against PIT-tag-confirmed identities. Manual identification achieved moderate-to-high overall accuracy (0.77-0.91) but showed marked inter-operator variability. Software-assisted matching appeared more consistent: Hotspotter identified 75% of true recaptures at first suggestion (85% within the top six suggestions), while Wild-ID identified 56% at first suggestion (88% within the top six). Correct matches were primarily supported by the distinctive pholidosis of the dorsal head region, especially apical, intercanthal and parafrontal scales-which were highly diverse but independent of sex and age class in the studied population. Externally attached HDF diodes enabled repeated short-term relocations with detachments occurring within hours to several days and mostly associated with ecdysis. The method was minimally invasive, supporting its applicability for monitoring small-bodied animals with low-density populations and restricted ranges.
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Citations
Marini, D., Ferri, V., Funk, A., Gialdini, O., Crescia, P., & Carafa, M. (2026). Recapturing Vipera ursinii: Photo-Identification and HDF Telemetry in a Meadow Viper Population from Maiella National Park, Italy. Diversity, 18(4), 202. https://doi.org/10.3390/d18040202 (Original work published 2026)