Dangermond Preserve Wrap Up

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Elizabeth Hiroyasu, Hillary Young, and Grace Lewin about their Dangermond Preserve work.  Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Hillary: ⁠Young Lab⁠ Where to find Elizabeth: ⁠Website⁠  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast …

Safari Science & Fieldwork Experience with Dr. Stotra Chakrabarti

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Stotra Chakrabarti about safari science and his experience working in the field.  Science Highlight: Faecal sampling using detection dogs to study reproduction and health in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  Where you can find …

Odor Discrimination Wrapup and Personal Updates

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla wraps up our discrimination series with a Q&A and provides some updates. Science Highlight: None this week  Questions asked: From Megan: From Janna Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists …

Getting Published 101

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles van Rees, our conservation correspondent, about getting research published. Science Highlight: None How is getting published in academia the same, or different from other publications? There are two major misconceptions: 1) that it’s the same as other kinds of …

Invasive Species with Dr. Charles van Rees

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles van Rees, our Conservation Correspondent, about invasive species. Science Highlight: None What makes a species invasive? Generalists Fast-reproducing Behavioral flexibility Lack predators/pressures Harmful to the ecosystem in general Why do they matter? Conservation implications Economic losses (statistics) How do …

What are Getxent Tubes? With Gregory Herin

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Gregory Herin from Getxent to discuss Getxent tubes.  Science Highlight: Noninvasive Identification of Herpetofauna: Pairing Conservation Dogs and Genetic Analysis  Links Mentioned in the Episode: Dr. Mallory DeChant and Dr. Hall research on odor thresholds University of Otago Graduate Thesis Getxent …

Science Highlight: Nontarget Species Behavior and Scat

This week’s science highlight concerns something many K9 Conservationists are very familiar with: scat! The study, “How Behavior of Nontarget Species Affects Perceived Accuracy of Scat Detection Dog Surveys” was published in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2018. The authors Karen E. DeMatteo, Linsey W. Blake, Julie K. Young, and Barbara …

Canine Ergonomics 1 & 2 (Patreon Book Club Notes)

As part of our monthly Patreon Benefits, we have a book club. For the next few months (summer to fall 2022), we’re reading Canine Ergonomics by William Helton. These rough notes are for chapters 1 and 2 of the book and include heavy quotes of notable passages from the book. …

Poop is Brown Gold: Genetic Analysis with Tara Wilson and Misa Winters

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Misa Winters and Tara Wilson about laboratory analysis of scat after field collection. Science Highlight: Duration of urination does not change with body size What can we learn from our scat samples? Genetic analysis (what species, what individual, what did it …