Accuracy and efficiency of detection dogs: a powerful new tool for koala conservation and management

Romane H Cristescu; Emily Foley; Anna Markula; Gary Jackson; Darryl Jones; Celine H Frere

doi:10.1038/srep08349

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Accuracy and efficiency of detection dogs: a powerful new tool for koala conservation and management

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Accuracy and efficiency of detection dogs: a powerful new tool for koala conservation and management

Romane H Cristescu, Emily Foley, Anna Markula, Gary Jackson, Darryl Jones and Celine H Frere

Scientific Reports, Vol.5, pp.1-6

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08349

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Abstract

ecology

zoology

Accurate data on presence/absence and spatial distribution for fauna species is key to their conservation. Collecting such data, however, can be time consuming, laborious and costly, in particular for fauna species characterised by low densities, large home ranges, cryptic or elusive behaviour. For such species, including koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), indicators of species presence can be a useful shortcut: faecal pellets (scats), for instance, are widely used. Scat surveys are not without their difficulties and often contain a high false negative rate. We used experimental and field-based trials to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of the first dog specifically trained for koala scats. The detection dog consistently out-performed human-only teams. Off-leash, the dog detection rate was 100%. The dog was also 19 times more efficient than current scat survey methods and 153% more accurate (the dog found koala scats where the human-only team did not). This clearly demonstrates that the use of detection dogs decreases false negatives and survey time, thus allowing for a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of data collection. Given these unequivocal results, we argue that to improve koala conservation, detection dog surveys for koala scats could in the future replace human-only teams.

Details

Title: Accuracy and efficiency of detection dogs: a powerful new tool for koala conservation and management
Authors: Romane H Cristescu (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Emily Foley (Author) - Griffith University
Anna Markula (Author) - Logan City Council
Gary Jackson (Author)
Darryl Jones (Author) - Griffith University
Celine H Frere (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Scientific Reports, Vol.5, pp.1-6
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1038/srep08349
ISSN: 2045-2322
Copyright note: Copyright © 2015 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission fromthe license holder in order to reproduce thematerial. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449952602621
Output Type: Journal article

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