Effectiveness of dogs for detecting feral cat scats in wheatbelt reserves of Western Australia

Abstract

Context. Dogs are increasingly being used in conservation work to collect information on species abundance, distribution, occupancy and other biological measures. Monitoring feral cats through the use of detection dogs could provide a useful technique to complement existing feral cat survey and control methods.Aim. To demonstrate and quantify the ability of trained detection dogs to reliably and efficiently detect feral cat scats when present in woodland conservation reserves in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.Methods. Cat scats were randomly placed into 466 1.5 ha (150 m  100 m) quadrats in Tutanning Nature Reserve, Western Australia, and the location of the scat was recorded. Quadrats were then independently searched by dogs walking a central transect line and the locations of all scats detected were recorded, with the distance from the scat to the transect subsequently being calculated. Data collected allowed the relationship between distance from the transect and detection probability to be used to assist modelling of detection probabilities.Key results. Dogs detected scats in 213 (55%) of 384 quadrats that were searched using a single transect line method. All indications of a find by the detector dogs were associated with a cat scat (no false indications). Detection probabilities for scats declined with distance from the transect line and with an increasing age of the scat. Simulations to investigate management options for cat control programs quantified effort required to detect cat scats under varying densities.Conclusion. Dogs were highly efficient at detecting scats within the woodland environment of the Western Australian wheatbelt. The effort required to detect a scat was considerably higher when cat density was low.Implications. On the basis of the detection probabilities derived from the present study, trained scat-detection dogs can be expected to efficiently search woodlands and find cat scats by using an effective sweep width of 100 m (50 m either side of a transect) when scats are fresh. Sweep widths need to be reduced significantly if it is important to locate scats that have been exposed to the elements for greater periods of time, or to search habitats where terrain and vegetation cover are more challenging.

Conservation detection dogs: A critical review of efficacy and methodology

“…Despite maximum recorded search distances of up to 62.8 m (Cablk et al., 2008), handlers should have continuous visuals of the dog for safety and noticing alerts promptly. In addition, efficacy does appear to be negatively related to search distance (Baker et al., 2021; Reed et al., 2011). Therefore, the recommendation is usually less than 10–15 m for the most efficient and productive search (Glen et al., 2018; Glen & Veltman, 2018; Goodwin et al., 2010), although even this can vary if wind directions and speed are more optimal for the dog which can increase olfaction abilities (Glen et al., 2018).…”

What can wildlife-detection dogs offer for managing small mammalian predators?

“…Experiments should be conducted to estimate effective sweep width for a range of targets, including live or dead animals, scats, and scent trails left by animals. Detectability is also likely to vary over time; for example, effective sweep width may be influenced by weather conditions, and may be lower for old scats and scent trails than for fresh ones Baker et al 2021).…”