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Conservation Detection Dogs Sniff out Threatened Species

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Tobias (below) is a specialist in finding them zebra and quagga mussels which spread but clinging to boats and other watercraft. They are an invasive species that displace native freshwater mussels and can be a nuisance by clogging pipes and destroying beneficial algae. In one test, dogs identified 100 percent of the boats with mussels aboard  while human screeners spotted 75 percent. The dogs did the job more quickly, and they could also detect the mussels’ microscopic larvae.¹

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More recently, dogs have been used to detect endangered, elusive, or invasive wildlife species. Dogs can be trained to locate the bodies of endangered bats and birds killed by wind turbines, scat of a bear species whose range covers hundreds of thousands of acres, and sniff out invasive zebra mussels on boats¹.

Protecting wildlife species that live in large, wild ranges is difficult without knowledge of their life habits
addresses this need. Dogs can quickly and efficiently locate wildlife scat samples that can be used to study genetic and physiological indicators of a species. These indicators provide scientists with information about a species location, abundance, health, and resource use which are all integral in working towards understanding, and in turn, conserving them. Dogs have proven to be unmatched in this service. They can be trained to find scat from multiple species simultaneously across expansive and remote areas and have low bias compared to other detection methods¹

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Cartoon Dog Performing a Typical Scat-Detection Survey

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Cartoon Dog Performing a Typical Scat-Detection Survey

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The technology I chose to research was the use of domesticated dogs in wildlife detection. I mainly chose this technology because it directly relates to my Master Plan and will provide the background the audience will need to understand my project. My Master Plan looks to understand the applicability of Wildlife Detection Dogs to threatened and endangered species in Northeast Ohio, where I reside.

Dogs have been used for a long time to help humans due to their very keen senses, especially their sense of smell. Dogs have 44 times more scent receptors in their nose than humans and can detect a single teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water!⁵  Dogs are used for hunting, finding missing persons, and detecting things like narcotics and other illegal and smuggled goods.

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Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C) uses their trained dogs to detect the scat of the San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica). The San Joaquin kit fox is an endangered species that lives only in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. More than 95% of their potential habitat has been developed or converted to agricultural use. By law, kit fox presence and habitat must be closely monitored – a difficult task given their elusive, nocturnal nature. WD4C dogs have proven highly proficient at detecting kit fox scats, which are extremely small and hard to identify⁵.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of This Technology

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Strengths and Weaknesses of This Technology

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Strengths ³
- Low impact surveys
- Can cover large areas in short amount of time
- Less bias than humans
- Outperforms humans conducting same survey
- Exact locations of samples are known
- Can be trained in many types of survey (transect, etc.)

Weaknesses ³
- Expensive to train and maintain dog
- Can't put away "tool" at the end of the day
- Must have a backlog of projects
- No protocols so some surveys with dogs may not be accepted by agencies

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¹Barnett, R. 2018. Once unwanted, these dogs are now on the front lines of wildlife conservation. Accessed at https://ideas.ted.com/once-unwanted-these-dogs-are-now-on-the-front-lines-of-wildlife-conservation/

²Center for Biological Diversity. 2019. Conservation Canines. University of Washington. Accessed at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/uw-s3-cdn/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2008/12/23211333/CK9-brochure.pdf

³Orkin, J. 2016. Cost-effective scat-detection dogs: unleashing a powerful new tool for international mammalian conservation biology. Scientific Reports. 6:34758.

⁴Staymates, M. 2016. Biometric Sniffing Improves the Detection Performance of a 3D Printed Nose of a Dog and a Commercial Trace Vapor Detector. Scientific Reports. 6:36876.

⁵Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C). 2015. Ecological Monitoring: Endangered Kit Fox Monitoring Project. Accessed at https://wd4c.org/kitfox.html

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What can we learn from this "technology"?? Why do dogs make amazing detection agents? Their nose is the prized possession. Recent advancements in technology hope to use a 3D printed dog nose to be able to provide the same standard of services as a wildlife detection dog, without the living animal⁴!

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Many dogs used for wildlife detection come from shelters and rescue centers as they are unwanted as family pets due to their bounding energy. These dogs make great detection dogs as they are willing to work long hours, are easily trained and need a job to be happy¹. This helps reduce the number of dogs in shelters and also provides a service for wildlife conservation.

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TED Talk Exploring Why Dogs Make Great Wildlife Surveyors

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Dogs for Conservation | Megan Parker | TEDxJacksonHole