Perspectives on Standard Guidelines and Methods for the Use of Live Amphibians in Captive Rearing Programs and Field Research

The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists’ Guidelines for Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research advocates universally for the humane treatment and conservation of these animals in the wild and in captivity. To keep this advocacy relevant, Guidelines must be periodically updated, as our collective knowledge of amphibians increases due to (1) the findings from studying a range of species representing a diversity of morphologies, ecologies, and behaviors and (2) advances in our understanding of the cognitive capabilities of these vertebrates (including memory acquisition, a sense of environment, and a sense of self). Similarly, Standard Methods recommendations for field techniques can be extraordinarily helpful in a how-to way. However, Standard Methods recommendations often presume a one-size-fits-all philosophy that can run counter to the quality of data it strives to ensure and, in some cases, can violate the principles of Guidelines. Here, we use our research on Crawfish Frogs (Rana areolata) and our perspectives on amphibian cognition as examples to (1) suggest Guidelines’ universal emphasis on individual welfare be relaxed to include instances where individual health might be sacrificed for the health of a population (i.e., modify the current ‘do no harm’ policy and instead adopt a ‘greatest good for the greatest number in the long run’ policy, especially in cases of captive-rearing and release programs), (2) suggest Guidelines be expanded to emphasize not just a consideration of animals while in captivity but also their welfare after release into the wild, and finally, (3) recommend Standard Methods be updated to comply with Guidelines recommendations. Our ultimate goal is first to improve conditions for amphibians by broadening the approaches taken by Guidelines and, second, to align Standard Methods with Guidelines recommendations to bring both perspectives up to date with current knowledge and practices regarding amphibian husbandry and field techniques.