Computer-aided photographic identification of Rosalia alpina (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) applied to a mark-recapture study

2. In our 2-year CMR study, we tested for the first time in the natural setting the feasibility and the application of the computer-aided photographic identification method of Rosalia alpina using the individual elytral spots as the natural marking. The (ISC)-S-3 software was used for the photographic analysis.

1. Assessing the conservation status of protected species needs quantitative population data, generally obtained using Capture-Mark-Recapture methods (CMR). The exploitation of natural marking (e.g. individual morphological traits) offers an interesting alternative, based on image analyses, which may result in a less manipulation of protected species compared to the typical artificial marking method.