Doggie detectives sniff for science

This story was originally published on our new Medium blog platform

They’re not chasing birds or deer. They’re chasing scent.

The aroma of animal scat, in fact.

They are Conservation Canines, a high-energy, ball-obsessed detector dog group being increasingly recruited to aid in wildlife conservation. Samples of wildlife scat provide experts with a multitude of information — without having to trap and take samples from wildlife.

These special dogs, many rescued from shelters, undergo intensive training to become doggie detectives with the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. The dogs are trained and motivated to accurately locate the appropriate scent. “Our dogs are quick to learn the game,” said wildlife biologist Suzie Marlow, who joined Conservation Canines in 2012. Marlow, who began as an orienteer and scat volunteer, said their dogs think of finding wildlife scat as a game.

Conservation canine Pip. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

Conservation canine Sampson. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

Conservation canine Alli. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

“Simply put: find the target odor equals play ball,” she said.

Recently, this “target odor” was mink scat. Experts wanted to determine how the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in New York’s Hudson River affected populations of wildlife, particularly mink, along the river. They brought in the Conservation Canines to sniff out the answer.

Mink live along rivers, diving for fish and eating frogs, birds, mice and other wildlife. As mink eat wildlife carrying PCBs, the persistent, toxic chemical builds up in their bodies. Laboratory studies have documented that mink are sensitive to PCB exposure and can experience reproductive impairment and mortality. The dogs of Conservation Canines were needed to see if those laboratory effects might be reflected in the mink populations of the Hudson River.

Photo by Carlos Guindon/USFWS Contractor

Conservation Canines sniffed out thousands of mink scat samples over a two year period. After reviewing the data, experts found that the mink population was drastically (approximately 40%) lower in the Hudson River when compared to the Mohawk River, a Hudson tributary without high levels of PCB contamination. The dangers to mink are documented in a new peer-reviewed, multi-year study commissioned by the Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees.

General Electric discharged PCBs into the Hudson River from two plants in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, NY. The Trustees are studying injuries caused by these PCBs. To date, the Trustees have documented injuries to groundwater, surface water, recreational fishing and navigation and are evaluating injury to other resources and habitats.

Mink scat is just one of the scents these canines can detect. Their dogs can locate species that were thought to be extinct, an invasive seed even before the plant breaks through the surface, and pollutants in old, urban structures. “Single surveys provide information on species’ interactions and entire ecosystems over vast spaces and if repeated, can assess interactions over time,” Marlow said.

 

Conservation canine Ranger. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

Conservation canine Casey. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

Conservation canine Beckett. Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch

In 2016, Conservation Canines set out to prove that their dogs could detect one of the lowest of odor profiles. Marlow and her detector dog Ranger traveled to Connecticut to assist Tracy Rittenhouse, a University of Connecticut professor of natural resources and the environment. Rittenhouse was on the lookout for Eastern cottontail and New England cottontail nests.

“I was committed to trying to get the Conservation Canines organization out here to the East coast,” Rittenhouse said. “Finding the cottontail nest is an extremely difficult thing to do, so I wanted to go to who I viewed as the best organization at training dogs.”

New England cottontail. Photo by Tom Barnes/USFWS

The New England cottontail is the only rabbit native to New England and east of the Hudson River in New York. Eastern cottontails were introduced to the region decades ago, replacing New England cottontails in many areas. Cottontails can be difficult to follow because of their protective camouflage and thick habitat.

Ranger, who was systematically introduced to the scent of multiple nests that week, put his head down low, stuck his nose out, and eagerly went to work, Marlow said.

Rittenhouse, who accompanied Marlow and Ranger on their rabbit expedition, said that the cottontails poked their fuzzy, little heads out of the nest and started hopping away a little bit, “but Ranger pointed to each one individually with his nose and then looked to the trainer and got his ball reward.”

The Conservation Canines provided key data to the ongoing initiative to restore the New England cottontail. As a result of advanced research and conservation, the cottontail was removed as a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection in 2015, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stressed the need for continuing efforts.

“I think it’s impressive the efforts that have gone into the New England cottontail,” Rittenhouse said. “A lot of groups can train their dogs to find scat or things that are smelly, but Conservation Canines has many successes at training dogs on things that have very little odor, and it’s really impressive.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “has been super successful at funding habitat management and creating enough habitat for species so that they are not on the Endangered Species list,” she added.

To learn about what other projects canines are sniffing out, check out their K9 Odor Detection page. You can learn more about the mink study by checking out the Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees fact sheet and press release, and the peer-reviewed Scientific Reports publication, titled ‘Large-scale variation in density of an aquatic ecosystem indicator species’.

A Conservation Success Story: A Landowner’s Perspective

Today we’re sharing the story of Tom McAvoy and his success in creating habitat for the New England cottontail and many other species.  The original story by Denise Coffey can be found here. 

When Tom McAvoy moved into a 1760 farmhouse on 115 acres in Scotland, his goal was to restore the land to what it looked like when it was a working dairy farm.

McAvoy had a soft spot in his heart for the land. His friend’s grandparents owned it, and McAvoy and his friend used to hunt there when they were younger.

When the opportunity presented itself, McAvoy secured the farm. He wanted to clear the overgrown pastures.

“My objective was simply to bring it back to the 1960s,” he said.

In the process of bulldozing the barways between the pastures, he had a visitor: biologist Travis Goodie, from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Goodie asked McAvoy if he could conduct a study on the property, to see if New England cottontail rabbits lived there. McAvoy, who didn’t know much about the rabbit, agreed. A year-long study revealed significant populations of the species.

Goodie asked McAvoy if he’d be willing to talk with some people about a restoration program for the rabbit. He agreed. One day, 12 vehicles pulled into his driveway. Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency walked the property with McAvoy.

The discussion that ensued centered around the importance of preserving the habitat for the New England cottontail, a species of rabbit headed for listing on the Endangered Species Act.

Tom McAvoy has spent years working to preserve habitat for New England Cottontails, at Cottontail Farm in Scotland. (D. Coffey/Courant Community)

“I still didn’t know why it was important,” McAvoy admitted. “I thought there were plenty of rabbits.”

The truth is, there are plenty of eastern cottontails, but not plenty of New England cottontails, the only species native to New England. And while the two species share many of the same characteristics, the latter has experienced a population decline because of habitat loss and fragmentation. New England Cottontails need early successional forests, rather than mature forests. They require thickets and shrubs, both for food sources and cover from predation.

McAvoy learned that the Scotland property was perfect for restoration efforts. Significant populations of the New England cottontail were found on 75 acres of the farm. He would be eligible for about 75 percent of the project’s cost. The catch was that funding would be taxable to McAvoy.

That prospect raised red flags for the banker and estate planner. But he told them he would consider it. USFWS Biologist Ted Kendziora offered to talk with McAvoy about all of his options and help assist and coordinate the agencies involved.

That assistance was important to McAvoy, who eventually agreed to the plan. Seven years, 25 contracts, and more than $50,000 later, the property has been made even more hospitable to the New England cottontail. But it was a labor intensive project that was developed in phases. The property was divided into sections and one section at a time was ‘transformed’ so as not to disturb the rabbits already there.

Non-native invasives like autumn olive, multiflora rose, and bittersweet had spread throughout land that had once been pasture. The plants grew quick and strong, leaving canopies that crowded out any other plants that might have tried to take a foothold in the understory.

The invasives crowded out native plants that provided food and protection for the rabbits. So one of the first orders of business was to pull the invasives up by their roots, leave the plants to die in the field, and let their bulk offer thickets for the rabbits to hide in.

Native shrubs were planted, and fencing put around them to keep deer from eating them. Piles of boulders were established on the property to provide habitat for the rabbits. Native shrubs were planted around those boulders and browse protection put in place. Protective channels were created where hedgerows existed between open fields. Trees and invasives were taken down so the rabbits could move more safely. Trees in a wooded lot were cleared and in their place, wild blueberry and raspberry flourished.

This is a New England cottontail. Credit: Tom Barnes / USFWS

“Improving habitat for the New England cottontail actually improved the habitat for lots of species,” McAvoy said.

Visitors to the farm have found acres of milkweed and monarch butterflies that depend on it for food. Rare birds have been identified. McAvoy said the land supports populations of turkey, deer, hawks, bobcat, and fisher cats.

“Anything we do to improve habitat is beneficial to a range of species,” he said.

It will take time to gauge the success of the restoration program, but McAvoy has traveled to Maine and Colorado to speak about its success with other conservation agencies and organizations. That has given him an opportunity to learn about habitat improvement projects around the nation.

In New England, projects are typically smaller, because of the size of available land parcels and the fragmentation due to denser human populations. But recognizing contiguous parcels of land and developing partnerships with private landowners has shown great promise.

“It’s critical to have a strategic approach,” McAvoy said. “And agencies have to be accountable to the public. You can’t just spend money without results.”

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Winter has arrived in the Northeast and snow is in the forecast. While we are piling on the cozy layers and feasting on soup and hot chocolate, outside temperatures are dropping and food for wildlife is getting scarce. Animals across the region are tackling the season head-on and have some impressive strategies to cope with winter conditions.

Snowshoe hare during summer. Photo by Eric Bégin/ Creative Commons

Snowshoe hare during winter. Photo by Tim Rains/ NPS

In the winter, snowshoe hares completely transform, their fur changing from brown to white for better camouflage in the snow. They spend their time eating and hiding which helps to conserve energy for their encounters with predators, such as the lynx. Further south, the New England cottontail uses its brown coat to blend into thick underbrush, and uses snow as a ladder to reach higher shoots, seedlings and twigs.

A snapping turtle peeks out of the water.

A wood frog camouflaged with leaf litter.

Have you ever wondered where amphibians and reptiles go in the winter? Most frogs, turtles, and snakes dramatically decrease their activity and enter a state of brumation, or dormancy, where their temperature drops and the heart rate slows down dramatically. Many turtles will bury themselves in mud at the bottom of a pond and absorb oxygen through their skin from the surrounding water. Wood frogs are even capable of freezing solid under leaves in forested areas. They are able to do this by filling their cells with a sugary substance that acts like antifreeze. The frog’s heartbeat stops and stays dormant all winter until they thaw again in spring!

A piping plover and chick by Kaiti Titherington/USFWS

For many birds, the cold is just too much to bear. Like many of us in the winter, migrating birds including the piping plover, leave their homes on the chilly northern coast and take a vacation down south to the warmer shorelines and sandy beaches. Most piping plover are already in their vacation nests by mid-September and come back to work (and mate) by mid-April. Bird migrations vary in length, but some range from hundreds to thousands of miles each year.

An American black bear in a tree. Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS

If long distance migration isn’t your thing, why not just sleep through winter like the American black bear? Bears aren’t true hibernators, but they can doze for up to 100 days at a time by slowing their metabolism and dropping their core temperature. Bears usually put on fifteen pounds a week during the fall to prepare for their long nap and stretch without food.

As Andrew King took this shot, an Indiana bat flew beneath a large hibernating cluster of Indiana bats on the ceiling of Ray’s Cave, IN (taken pre-white nose syndrome.)

The Indiana bat, a true hibernator, accumulates layers of fat and spends months tucked away in its hibernaculum, like a cave or mine. Throughout winter, bats periodically rouse to move between hibernacula, before their heart rate and body temperature is dramatically lowered to conserve energy. Sadly, white-nose syndrome is plaguing bat hibernacula and causing populations of bats to plummet. Learn more about white-nose syndrome here.

A ruffed grouse in the snow by Head Harbor Lightstation/ Creative Commons

Ruffed grouse are non-migratory birds. They stick out the winters in their usual homes in a protected thicket or burrowed in the snow.  In the late fall, feathers begin to grow on their legs to protect from the cold and help conserve body heat. Pectinations (fleshy comb-like projections along their toes) help them walk on soft snow, roost and burrow. Down feathers allow birds to trap air against their body to stay warm, and many birds will even cuddle together to keep warm.

Swallows cuddle up to keep warm. Photo by Keith Williams/ Creative Commons

We can learn a thing or two from wildlife this winter. Cuddling, sleeping, or vacationing through winter doesn’t sound half bad, especially if you’re not a fan of winter weather!