Scientific method and the toe-clipping wars

Speaker: Dr Kirsten Parris (University of Melbourne)

Abstract

Toe clipping is commonly used in population ecology to identify individual amphibians, particularly anurans (frogs and toads). My co-author (Michael McCarthy) and I have demonstrated a consistent, negative effect of toe clipping on the return rate of anurans, sparking controversy in the herpetological world. In this seminar, I will discuss the toe clipping story in the context of the modern scientific method, including issues of logic, statistical inference, the scientific review process and the ethics of field research