Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Research”
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 publishing, 2) that is different than other kinds of publishing …
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 they work? Arrival Propagules Establishment Secondary spread How do people …
Thank you to Madison, who volunteered to write this article. As the world of conservation detection dogs grows, finding or creating more dog and handler teams becomes necessary. Let’s face it, working dogs are expensive! This can cause a barrier for smaller conservation projects and organizations that would benefit from having some conservation dog teams at their side. This is …
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 Product Sheet Getxent response to thesis publication. PDF below Where …
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 Davenport sought to investigate possible reasons for detection teams collecting …
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. Join our book club on Patreon now to hop on …
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 eat, sex typing) Morphological diet analysis (fur, bones, teeth, plants, …
In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Jo Lock of Nose No Limit and Conservation Dogs Collective regarding her paper about using antecedent arrangement to help reduce bat fatalities on wind farms. Science Highlight: The relationship between the number of trainingsessions per week and learning in dogs Links Mentioned in the Episode: White paper – https://www.nosenolimit.com/bat-paper Nose No Limit …
When searching an area for scat, invasive plants, or other data points, many researchers and conservation detection dog teams employ a transect search. In order to determine the appropriate spacing of your transects, you need to understand the local conditions influencing air flow and the probability of detection for your target in that space. There is no correct answer for …
In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles Van Rees about data. They discuss the ins and outs of working with data and how to turn data into information scientists can use.Episode suggestion: Take the time to see, smell, and notice things outside! Call to action: Check out ebird, inaturalist or seek! What is/are data? Information that …