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Fluorescent Pigment Powder (FPP)  Tracking is a research technique that allows researchers to apply a fluorescent pigment powder to animals or plants.   Through this technique researchers can study plants and animals movements, life history traits, behaviors, and population dynamics (Rice et al., 2015).  The organism can be tracked utilizing UV lights or the visibility of the colored powder.

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                                                          Why use FPP? 

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                                                          Why use FPP? 

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Being covered with pigment powder often does not affect the animal or plant.  The weight of the powder is similar to being covered with natural items such as soil or other organic environmental debris (Rittenhouse, Altnether, & Semlitsch, 2006).

The powder can be used on small organisms that often would be difficult to apply other tracking techniques to, such as a radio transmitter (Rittenhouse et al., 2006).

Pigment Powder is cost effective – cheap to purchase (Rice et al., 2015) and does not require extensive staff training (Furman, Scheffers, Paszkowski, 2011).

This technique allows for many individual organisms to be marked (Rice et al., 2015).

Can be used for short term data collection (Furman et al., 2011).

This technique has been useful in documenting previously inaccessible features (Rice et al., 2015) such as:

locating hibernating shelter sites (Furman et al., 2011)

nests or burrows (Nicolas & Colyn, 2007)

an exact record of movement through the organisms habitat (Furman et al., 2011)

hard to reach detection sites such as tree canopies and aquatic habitats (Rice et al. 2015).

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                     The downsides of using FPP.....

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                     The downsides of using FPP.....

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FPP application could possibly increase visibility of the marked animal/plant to predators (Rittenhouse et al., 2006).

Handling of the animal to apply the FPP could affect the behavior of the animal (Furman et al., 2011).

Movement through certain habitat features, such as water, or weather conditions such as rain or wind, could remove the powder (Furman et al., 2011).

If using a UV light at night to identify the marked animal, this could have a potential to influence the animals behavior and movements (Rice et al., 2015).

Not ideal for tracking through dense vegetation (Nicolas & Colyn, 2007), but better suited for habitats with limited ground vegetation (Lemke, Lippe, Kowarik, 2009).

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How else could we use FPP? Professional uses in the zoo to improve animal welfare.   

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How else could we use FPP? Professional uses in the zoo to improve animal welfare.   

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A key component of animal welfare for zoo animals, is knowing how an animal is using its space.  However, zoo keepers may not always have the time or staffing to spend as much time as they would like observing their animals.  Applying powder to an animal would provide a safe, and easy way, to track an animal’s movements throughout it’s habitat.  This would be especially helpful to animals that have a large habitat, or for small animals that like to burrow.

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Engaging kids in science and nature with FPP! A sample lesson plan:

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Engaging kids in science and nature with FPP! A sample lesson plan:

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1. Students collect plant seeds.

2. Students apply pigment powder to the seeds.

3. Students disperse seeds.

4. Students return to release site and collect data on how many seeds they find and how far the seeds traveled.

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Furman, B. L. S., Scheffers, B. R., Paszkowski, C. A., (2011).  The use of fluorescent powdered pigments as a tracking technique for snakes.  Herpetological Conservation and Biology.  6(3): 473-478.

Lemke, A., Lippe. M., Kowarik, I. (2009). New opportunities for an old method: using fluorescent colours to measure seed dispersal.  Journal of Applied Ecology. 46. 1122-1128. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01691.x

Nicolas V. & Colyn, M. (2007).  Efficiency of fluorescent powder tracking for studying use of space by small mammals in an African rainforest. African Journal of Ecology. 45(4). 577- 580.

Ramirez, P.A., Bell, B. D., Germano, J. M., Bishop, P. J., & Nelson, N. J., (2017). Tracking a Small Cryptic Amphibian with Fluorscent Powders.  New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 41(1), 134 – 138.

Rice, K. B., Fleischer, S. J., De Moraes, C. M., Mescher, M. C., Tooker, J. F., & Gish, M. (2015). Handheld lasers allow efficient detection of fluorescent marked organisms in the field. PloS one, 10(6), e0129175. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129175

Rittenhouse, T.A., Altnether, T.T., & Semlitsch, R.D. (2006). Fluorescent Powder Pigments as a Harmless Tracking Method for Ambystomatids and Ranids. Herpetological Review. 37(2).

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