Detection Dogs
To support eradication of invasive plant populations in WPAs, we are researching the use of search dogs to improve detection rates for small or obscure plants that might escape detection by ground surveyors. Small plants that go undetected can reproduce and prolong eradication and increase operational costs.
June 2011 Detection Dog
Article in the Missoulian
Article in the Missoulian
(click on image or here to view article)
Title: Border collie sniffs out noxious weeds on Missoula mountainside
By Chelsi Moy of the Missoulian, Photo by Michael Gallacher
Search dogs can be trained to detect obscure and low-density plants that are often overlooked by surveyors, and in Missoula they are helping natural areas managers eradicate a population of Dyer's woad.
By Chelsi Moy of the Missoulian, Photo by Michael Gallacher
Search dogs can be trained to detect obscure and low-density plants that are often overlooked by surveyors, and in Missoula they are helping natural areas managers eradicate a population of Dyer's woad.
June 2011 Detection Dog Article from Reuters
Title: Dogs sniff out invasive plants on Western lands
By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters
Dogs trained to sniff out invasive plants are the latest weapon in the war against weeds that threaten to choke off vast stretches of native forests and grasslands across the West.
Article Link
By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters
Dogs trained to sniff out invasive plants are the latest weapon in the war against weeds that threaten to choke off vast stretches of native forests and grasslands across the West.
Article Link
June 2010 Detection Dog
Research Article
Research Article
Title: Trained Dogs Outperform Human Surveyors in the Detection of Rare Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)
Journal: Invasive Plant Science and Management
Authors: Kim M. Goodwin, Rick E. Engel, and David K. Weaver
Article Link (PDF)
Journal: Invasive Plant Science and Management
Authors: Kim M. Goodwin, Rick E. Engel, and David K. Weaver
Article Link (PDF)
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