Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
275
result(s) for
"Detector dogs."
Sort by:
Poop detectives : working dogs in the field
How can dogs that sniff for excrement, urine, vomit, and mucus help protect animals from extinction? Scat-detection dogs like Wicket, Tucker, and Orbee are conservation heroes and pioneers in a cutting-edge field of science. Canine detectives use their super sense of smell to locate the scat of target animals. From loose bear dung to gooey whale poop, scat can tell scientists valuable information about an animal's sex, age, diet, and health all without harming the animal or endangering the researcher.
Book
Border biosecurity interceptions for air passengers – assessing intervention methods and analytic tools
At-border interventions are a critical step along the biosecurity continuum, to measure and control the risks associated with the cross-border movement of people and goods. Air passengers are a high-volume pathway for a range of biosecurity risk materials, against which various interventions may be used (e.g., manual searches, detector dogs, x-rays, etc.). Tasmania is an island state, and its environment and industries have benefited from a low level of invasive pests due to their geographic isolation. Therefore, relatively strict at-border interventions are used to prevent the entry of new pests, including some serious invasive pests already present on mainland Australia (e.g., Queensland ( Bactrocera tryoni ) and Mediterranean ( Ceratitis capitata ) fruit fly). Using a large interception database for domestic air passengers entering the southern Australian state of Tasmania from mainland Australia, this study applies common statistical modelling tools to assess the efficacy of interventions (namely, dog detectors, and bag searches), and to identify pathway risk factors (e.g., flight origin/route). This analysis considered the effects of interventions on both voluntary declarations by passengers and also detections of undeclared risk material on passengers. The analysis also focused on biosecurity risk items generally (e.g., fruits and vegetables, meat products, cut flowers), and items that are specifically considered to be fruit-fly hosts. The results highlight that active at-border interventions and the presence of biosecurity inspectors capture a significant volume of biosecurity risk items at the border, and detector dogs have particularly strong positive effects on the rate of interceptions, particularly for items detected on passengers. Conducting bag searches also appears to increase interceptions, both by increasing the rate of items being detected and by encouraging voluntary declarations. Sensitivity analyses then test the robustness of results to modelling implementation methods and distributional assumptions. This study demonstrates how statistical modelling can provide robust insights into biosecurity interventions and risk factors along pathways, and further highlights the value of high-quality interception data resources for informing and improving biosecurity systems.
Journal Article
A framework for inference about carnivore density from unstructured spatial sampling of scat using detector dogs
Wildlife management often hinges upon an accurate assessment of population density. Although undeniably useful, many of the traditional approaches to density estimation such as visual counts, livetrapping, or mark— recapture suffer from a suite of methodological and analytical weaknesses. Rare, secretive, or highly mobile species exacerbate these problems through the reality of small sample sizes and movement on and off study sites. In response to these difficulties, there is growing interest in the use of noninvasive survey techniques, which provide the opportunity to collect larger samples with minimal increases in effort, as well as the application of analytical frameworks that are not reliant on large sample size arguments. One promising survey technique, the use of scat detecting dogs, offers a greatly enhanced probability of detection while at the same time generating new difficulties with respect to non-standard survey routes, variable search intensity, and the lack of a fixed survey point for characterizing non-detection. In order to account for these issues, we modified an existing spatially explicit, capture-recapture model for camera trap data to account for variable search intensity and the lack of fixed, georeferenced trap locations. We applied this modified model to a fisher (Martes pernianti) dataset from the Sierra National Forest, California, and compared the results (12.3 fishers/100 km²) to more traditional density estimates. We then evaluated model performance using simulations at 3 levels of population density. Simulation results indicated that estimates based on the posterior mode were relatively unbiased. We believe that this approach provides a flexible analytical framework for reconciling the inconsistencies between detector dog survey data and density estimation procedures.
Journal Article
Top dog : the story of Marine hero Lucca
The New York Times bestselling author of Soldier Dogs delivers the incredible, true story of K-9 Marine hero Lucca, and the handlers who fought alongside her through two bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Book
Defining the Characteristics of Successful Biosecurity Scent Detection Dogs
To perform their role effectively, scent detection dogs require certain characteristics. Identifying these characteristics will inform the selection of prospective dogs and preferred approaches to their training. The current study drew upon the perspectives of industry stakeholders to identify the behavioural traits considered relevant for detection dogs in biosecurity screening roles. Dog handlers, trainers, and supervisors (n = 25) in Australian biosecurity operations participated in focus group interviews to determine the perceived characteristics that, in their experience, influence detection performance. Their descriptions were used to create a questionnaire which was then administered to handlers to assess the working behaviours of current biosecurity dogs. Responses were collected for 88% of the operational dogs (n = 36). An exploratory factor analysis revealed seven tentative dimensions: search motivation, emotional stability, search arousal, food motivation, play motivation, search independence, and search focus. Search motivation and search arousal were both positively associated with handler ratings of detection performance (p ≤ 0.006). In general, biosecurity dogs were scored consistently high in ratings of search motivation, emotional stability, and food motivation. Our approach has advanced our understanding of the working behaviours and characteristic profile of biosecurity detector dogs and will be used to inform candidate selection processes.
Journal Article
Gabe : the dog who sniffs out danger
\"Gabe is a real dog who works with the United States military. He has an important job: He uses his sense of smell to find weapons before they hurt anyone. Gabe saves lives! Read his story to find out more about Gabe and what makes him a hero dog.\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Detection probabilities and surveillance sensitivities for managing an invasive mammalian herbivore
Invasive mammalian herbivores can have significant unwanted impacts on indigenous ecosystems and production landscapes. Their impacts are often mitigated using sustained lethal control or eradication. If eradication is the chosen option, it is critical to confirm where the pest population is distributed and prove that eradication has been achieved following the removal intervention. This form of pest management requires robust and quantitative estimates of surveillance. We compared the detection probabilities, derived surveillance system sensitivities (under standardized conditions), and cost of surveillance for four survey methods for invasive Bennett’s wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus) in South Island, New Zealand: helicopter surveys with observers, helicopter surveys using a thermal imaging camera, a ground hunter with detector dogs, and camera traps. We found camera traps and ground hunters with dogs were the most sensitive surveillance methods (82% and 45% chance of detecting a wallaby assuming full search coverage of a 100‐ha area, respectively) and were most cost‐effective (62% and 85% cheaper than helicopter surveys with observers, respectively). However, although these methods are useful for surveying small areas (~1000 ha or less), capacity and time issues make them impractical for surveying large areas. The helicopter‐based methods will likely be more suitable for monitoring large areas (e.g., 10,000–50,000 ha) that need to be completed more rapidly than could be achieved using ground‐based methods. The model that we used for evaluating detection probability and surveillance sensitivity for different survey methods is highly applicable for managing a wide range of mammalian pests and confidently declaring their absence from an area.
Journal Article
What Is Fourth Amendment Contraband?
The Supreme Court has held that the sniff of a trained drug detection dog is not a \"search\" under the Fourth Amendment because the dog does no more than reveal the existence of \"contraband.\" As technology advances, courts will have to confront new forms of purported \"contraband-only\" investigative techniques, ranging from \"hash\" searches for child pornography and electronic sniffers to \"gun detectors\" and swipes of counterfeit credit cards. This Note provides a three-step framework to evaluate those technologies under existing doctrine and addresses a question that has so far received little attention: What is \"contraband\" for purposes of the Fourth Amendment? This Note proposes using a definition of \"anticipatory contraband\" that requires not only examining whether something is illegal to possess as a matter of substantive criminal law but also demonstrating that the police knew in advance that there was no lawful right to private possession under the circumstances. This Note then applies the three-step framework and the theory of anticipatory contraband to a variety of new technologies. This analysis reveals that while the contraband-only doctrine encompasses a variety of investigative techniques, the \"in-advance\" requirement is surprisingly restrictive, requiring police and courts to be alert to the possibility of compromising legitimate private information.
Journal Article