Training of a dog for the monitoring of Osmoderma eremita

By

Mosconi, Fabio
Campanaro, Alessandro
Carpaneto, Giuseppe Maria
Chiari, Stefano
Hardersen, Sonke
Mancini, Emiliano
Maurizi, Emanuela
Sabatelli, Simone
Zauli, Agnese
Mason, Franco
Audisio, Paolo Aldo 1955-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

20

Pages

237--264

Subjects

conservation biology , Conservation detection dog , Habitats Directive , monitoring methods , Osmoderma eremita , saproxylic beetles

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.20.12688

 

Abstract

One aim of the MIPP Project (http://www.lifemipp.eu) was to develop non-invasive monitoring methods for selected saproxylic beetles. In this paper, a method is proposed for monitoring the larvae of Osmoderma eremita in their natural habitat (i.e. hollow trees), using a conservation detection dog (CDD). Wood mould sampling (WMS), the standard method to detect hermit beetles and other saproxylic insects inside tree hollows, is time-consuming and exposes the target species and the whole saproxylic communities to some risks. In contrast, CDDs pose no risk to the species living inside trees while, at the same time, offer a powerful tool for surveying the insects. In this paper, the methods applied to train the dog are presented, together with the results for accuracy (the overall proportion of correct indications), sensitivity (the proportion of correct positive indications) and specificity (the proportion of correct negative indications) obtained once the CDD had been fully trained. Results are presented for nitrocellulose filters with the odour of the target species, for larvae living inside hollow trees, for frass and for the remains of adults. A comparison of the efficiency between CDD and WMS showed that employing the dog was much less time-consuming than WMS. The literature on training CDDs for nature conservation tasks, with particular reference to cases involving Coleoptera, was also reviewed.