Hot Topic

Detection dogs provide a powerful method for conservation surveys

Thursday, 7 April 2022  | 

Key Points

  • Detection dogs are particularly useful in invasive species eradication programs where locating all invaders is critical for program success.
  • Detection dogs are consistently more effective than traditional survey techniques for collecting scats used in DNA sampling.
  • Evaluating the performance of dog-handler teams is improving with the support of industry groups and increased global research effort.

Authors: Emma Bennett (Monash University), La Toya Jamieson (Zoos Victoria), Stevie Nicole Florent (Skylos Ecology), Nicole Gill (Goldwind Australia and Australian National University), Cindy Hauser (DELWP), Romane Cristescu (University of the Sunshine Coast)

How can detection dogs support existing survey efforts and when should they be engaged by land managers?

Detection dogs are increasingly deployed to support conservation efforts and provide an alternative to traditional visual and acoustic surveys.  Detection dogs are particularly effective for low-density species [1], in areas of challenging terrain [2], where traditional survey methods cause disturbance [3], in eradication programs [4] and where other survey techniques may not be available [5].  The use of scent dogs often provides a complimentary survey tool, increasing opportunities for detection of rare and cryptic species [6].

Detection dogs are particularly useful for detecting scats, reject pellets, and other non-invasive evidence of animals, and thus can play an important role in DNA sampling [7, 8].  Dogs can discriminate between individuals within a species [9], and have special benefits such as the ability to generalise across odours of common and closely related cryptic species [10], or be trained on inert frozen plant material for live sample detection [11].  They consistently outperform traditional survey methods in the search for invasive plants [12], wind farm mortality surveys [13], scat detection [8, 14] and live animal detection [1]; however, dogs may not be the most cost-effective detection tool if targets are abundant or easy to detect using other methods [15].

Performance evaluation and search strategies are needed to deploy dogs effectively [16], and the source of the dog and handler can result in significant performance and cost differences [17], meaning cost evaluation should be considered project specific. Training requirements vary with the experience of the dog/handler, type of target and complexity of the survey environment. Effective dog-handler detection teams require strong two-way communication [18] and performance is best evaluated by treating the dog and handler as a team.

Best-practice deployment of detection dogs for ecological surveys is supported by Australasian Conservation Dog Network. This network provides resources for land managers and prospective dog handlers.

More on this Hot Topic:

– Plain-English factsheet (PDF) –
– Evidence from the scientific literature to support this Hot Topic (numbered references) –
– Link to peer-reviewed article via Austral Ecology –

 

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