Nicole Gill, Romane Cristescu, Adam Cisterne, Dejan Stojanovic
{"title":"探测犬能帮助研究人员保护难以捉摸的森林猫头鹰","authors":"Nicole Gill, Romane Cristescu, Adam Cisterne, Dejan Stojanovic","doi":"10.1111/aec.13513","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Elusive fauna are often studied indirectly, via traces they leave behind, or via other non-invasive survey methods. Critically endangered Tasmanian masked owls are both rare and elusive, which hampers conservation efforts. Spotlighting and call playback often have low success rates in accurately determining the presence/absence of Tasmanian masked owls. Using indirect survey techniques for traces such as owl pellets can be more efficient and provide a more reliable source of detailed data regarding presence/absence, diet, health, population structure and environmental contaminants. However, pellets can be difficult for researchers to find in the field. We evaluate whether detection dogs are effective in finding owl pellets in two steps: an experimental trial comparing the performance of a dog team to that of an ecologist with significant field experience with masked owls; and in a pilot field study where the dog team searched potential owl habitat in Tasmanian forests. During the experimental trials, the dog team significantly outperformed the ecologist. The dog team was more sensitive, finding 89% versus 40% of pellets present for the ecologist, and took half as long to search an equivalent-sized search area. The combined efficiency of the dog team was 4.5 times greater than that of an ecologist working alone. During the pilot study, in searching areas of potential masked owl habitat, no pellets were found. However, when sites were visited where owls were known to have been recently sighted, the dog team were able to find large numbers of owl pellets suitable for collection and potential data extraction. Our trials suggest that dogs can find owl pellets with considerably greater sensitivity and efficiency than ecologists working alone and that they would be best used in combination with targeted surveys, especially when the detection and subsequent collection of as many pellets as possible is desirable for DNA extraction or other analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":8663,"journal":{"name":"Austral Ecology","volume":"49 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13513","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Detection dogs can help researchers with elusive forest owl conservation\",\"authors\":\"Nicole Gill, Romane Cristescu, Adam Cisterne, Dejan Stojanovic\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/aec.13513\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p>Elusive fauna are often studied indirectly, via traces they leave behind, or via other non-invasive survey methods. Critically endangered Tasmanian masked owls are both rare and elusive, which hampers conservation efforts. Spotlighting and call playback often have low success rates in accurately determining the presence/absence of Tasmanian masked owls. Using indirect survey techniques for traces such as owl pellets can be more efficient and provide a more reliable source of detailed data regarding presence/absence, diet, health, population structure and environmental contaminants. However, pellets can be difficult for researchers to find in the field. We evaluate whether detection dogs are effective in finding owl pellets in two steps: an experimental trial comparing the performance of a dog team to that of an ecologist with significant field experience with masked owls; and in a pilot field study where the dog team searched potential owl habitat in Tasmanian forests. During the experimental trials, the dog team significantly outperformed the ecologist. The dog team was more sensitive, finding 89% versus 40% of pellets present for the ecologist, and took half as long to search an equivalent-sized search area. The combined efficiency of the dog team was 4.5 times greater than that of an ecologist working alone. During the pilot study, in searching areas of potential masked owl habitat, no pellets were found. However, when sites were visited where owls were known to have been recently sighted, the dog team were able to find large numbers of owl pellets suitable for collection and potential data extraction. Our trials suggest that dogs can find owl pellets with considerably greater sensitivity and efficiency than ecologists working alone and that they would be best used in combination with targeted surveys, especially when the detection and subsequent collection of as many pellets as possible is desirable for DNA extraction or other analysis.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":8663,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Austral Ecology\",\"volume\":\"49 5\",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":1.6000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-05-08\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/aec.13513\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Austral Ecology\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"93\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.13513\",\"RegionNum\":4,\"RegionCategory\":\"环境科学与生态学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q3\",\"JCRName\":\"ECOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Austral Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aec.13513","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
摘要
对难以捉摸的动物的研究通常是通过它们留下的痕迹或其他非侵入性调查方法间接进行的。极度濒危的塔斯马尼亚蒙面猫头鹰既稀有又难以捉摸,这阻碍了保护工作。聚光灯和呼叫回放在准确确定塔斯马尼亚蒙面猫头鹰是否存在方面的成功率通常很低。使用间接的痕迹调查技术(如猫头鹰食团)可以提高效率,并提供有关存在/不存在、饮食、健康、种群结构和环境污染等方面的更可靠的详细数据。然而,研究人员在野外很难找到猫头鹰的食团。我们通过两个步骤来评估探测犬是否能有效地找到猫头鹰的弹丸:一个是实验测试,将探测犬小组的表现与对蒙面猫头鹰有丰富实地经验的生态学家的表现进行比较;另一个是试点实地研究,探测犬小组在塔斯马尼亚森林中搜索潜在的猫头鹰栖息地。在实验过程中,警犬队的表现明显优于生态学家。狗队的灵敏度更高,发现了89%的猫头鹰粪球,而生态学家只发现了40%的粪球,而且搜索同等大小的搜索区域所需的时间只有生态学家的一半。狗队的综合效率是单独工作的生态学家的 4.5 倍。在试点研究期间,在搜索蒙面猫头鹰潜在栖息地的区域时,没有发现任何鸟粪。但是,在访问已知最近发现过猫头鹰的地点时,警犬小组能够找到大量适合收集和提取潜在数据的猫头鹰粪粒。我们的试验表明,与单独工作的生态学家相比,狗能以更高的灵敏度和效率找到猫头鹰的弹丸,狗最好与有针对性的调查结合起来使用,特别是当需要发现并收集尽可能多的弹丸以进行 DNA 提取或其他分析时。
Detection dogs can help researchers with elusive forest owl conservation
Elusive fauna are often studied indirectly, via traces they leave behind, or via other non-invasive survey methods. Critically endangered Tasmanian masked owls are both rare and elusive, which hampers conservation efforts. Spotlighting and call playback often have low success rates in accurately determining the presence/absence of Tasmanian masked owls. Using indirect survey techniques for traces such as owl pellets can be more efficient and provide a more reliable source of detailed data regarding presence/absence, diet, health, population structure and environmental contaminants. However, pellets can be difficult for researchers to find in the field. We evaluate whether detection dogs are effective in finding owl pellets in two steps: an experimental trial comparing the performance of a dog team to that of an ecologist with significant field experience with masked owls; and in a pilot field study where the dog team searched potential owl habitat in Tasmanian forests. During the experimental trials, the dog team significantly outperformed the ecologist. The dog team was more sensitive, finding 89% versus 40% of pellets present for the ecologist, and took half as long to search an equivalent-sized search area. The combined efficiency of the dog team was 4.5 times greater than that of an ecologist working alone. During the pilot study, in searching areas of potential masked owl habitat, no pellets were found. However, when sites were visited where owls were known to have been recently sighted, the dog team were able to find large numbers of owl pellets suitable for collection and potential data extraction. Our trials suggest that dogs can find owl pellets with considerably greater sensitivity and efficiency than ecologists working alone and that they would be best used in combination with targeted surveys, especially when the detection and subsequent collection of as many pellets as possible is desirable for DNA extraction or other analysis.
期刊介绍:
Austral Ecology is the premier journal for basic and applied ecology in the Southern Hemisphere. As the official Journal of The Ecological Society of Australia (ESA), Austral Ecology addresses the commonality between ecosystems in Australia and many parts of southern Africa, South America, New Zealand and Oceania. For example many species in the unique biotas of these regions share common Gondwana ancestors. ESA''s aim is to publish innovative research to encourage the sharing of information and experiences that enrich the understanding of the ecology of the Southern Hemisphere.
Austral Ecology involves an editorial board with representatives from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina. These representatives provide expert opinions, access to qualified reviewers and act as a focus for attracting a wide range of contributions from countries across the region.
Austral Ecology publishes original papers describing experimental, observational or theoretical studies on terrestrial, marine or freshwater systems, which are considered without taxonomic bias. Special thematic issues are published regularly, including symposia on the ecology of estuaries and soft sediment habitats, freshwater systems and coral reef fish.