Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities.
Bumble bees are among the most imperiled pollinators. However, habitat use, especially nest site selection, remains relatively unknown. Methods to locate nests are invaluable to better understand habitat requirements and monitor wild populations. Building on prior study findings, we report constrain...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249248 |
| _version_ | 1819038654963646464 |
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| author | Amanda R Liczner Victoria J MacPhail Deborah A Woollett Ngaio L Richards Sheila R Colla |
| author_facet | Amanda R Liczner Victoria J MacPhail Deborah A Woollett Ngaio L Richards Sheila R Colla |
| author_sort | Amanda R Liczner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bumble bees are among the most imperiled pollinators. However, habitat use, especially nest site selection, remains relatively unknown. Methods to locate nests are invaluable to better understand habitat requirements and monitor wild populations. Building on prior study findings, we report constraints and possibilities observed while training detection dogs to locate bumble bee nests. Three conservation detection dogs were initially trained to three species of bumble bee nest material, first within glass jars concealed in a row of cinder blocks, then placed in the open or partially hidden for area searches. The next intended training step was to expose the dogs to natural nests located by community science volunteers. However, significant effort (> 250 hrs), yielded only two confirmed, natural nests suitable for dog training purposes. Although the dogs did not progress past the formative training stage valuable insight was gained. Maximum observed detection distance for bumble bee nest material during initial controlled training was 15 m, which decreased significantly (< 1 m) once training progressed to buried samples and natural nests. Three main considerations around future training and usage of detection dogs were identified. First, dogs might benefit from transitional training via exposures to known natural nests, regardless of species. However, it may be too difficult for people to find natural nests for this, and prior work demonstrated the ability of dogs to generalize and find natural nests after testing to artificially-buried nest material. Second, confirming a dog's nest find, via resident bee presence, is nuanced. Third, future study design and objectives must harness strengths, and reflect limitations of detection dog surveys and search strategies, as extensively discussed in this paper. Prospective studies involving detection dogs for locating bumble bee nests would benefit from considering the drawbacks and opportunities discussed and can mitigate limitations through incorporating these considerations in their study design. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:40:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a305b9109334eb9a9737973168d3f6c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:40:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a305b9109334eb9a9737973168d3f6c2022-12-21T19:09:58ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01165e024924810.1371/journal.pone.0249248Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities.Amanda R LicznerVictoria J MacPhailDeborah A WoollettNgaio L RichardsSheila R CollaBumble bees are among the most imperiled pollinators. However, habitat use, especially nest site selection, remains relatively unknown. Methods to locate nests are invaluable to better understand habitat requirements and monitor wild populations. Building on prior study findings, we report constraints and possibilities observed while training detection dogs to locate bumble bee nests. Three conservation detection dogs were initially trained to three species of bumble bee nest material, first within glass jars concealed in a row of cinder blocks, then placed in the open or partially hidden for area searches. The next intended training step was to expose the dogs to natural nests located by community science volunteers. However, significant effort (> 250 hrs), yielded only two confirmed, natural nests suitable for dog training purposes. Although the dogs did not progress past the formative training stage valuable insight was gained. Maximum observed detection distance for bumble bee nest material during initial controlled training was 15 m, which decreased significantly (< 1 m) once training progressed to buried samples and natural nests. Three main considerations around future training and usage of detection dogs were identified. First, dogs might benefit from transitional training via exposures to known natural nests, regardless of species. However, it may be too difficult for people to find natural nests for this, and prior work demonstrated the ability of dogs to generalize and find natural nests after testing to artificially-buried nest material. Second, confirming a dog's nest find, via resident bee presence, is nuanced. Third, future study design and objectives must harness strengths, and reflect limitations of detection dog surveys and search strategies, as extensively discussed in this paper. Prospective studies involving detection dogs for locating bumble bee nests would benefit from considering the drawbacks and opportunities discussed and can mitigate limitations through incorporating these considerations in their study design.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249248 |
| spellingShingle | Amanda R Liczner Victoria J MacPhail Deborah A Woollett Ngaio L Richards Sheila R Colla Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. PLoS ONE |
| title | Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. |
| title_full | Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. |
| title_fullStr | Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. |
| title_short | Training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat: Challenges and opportunities. |
| title_sort | training and usage of detection dogs to better understand bumble bee nesting habitat challenges and opportunities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249248 |
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