Dogs Sniff Out Invasive Species in Germany
Svenja Kremling, a dedicated conservationist, has pioneered an innovative method to combat invasive alien movies in Germany. She has trained her Irish terrier, Tilda, to sniff out the beetle species Anoplophora, demonstrating the potential of dogs in environmental monitoring.
Kremling's method, known as 'artenspürhunde', uses dogs to search over larger areas, saving time and costs compared to traditional methods. Her success with Tilda led her to establish a citizen science project, involving volunteers and their dogs in the hunt for invasive species.
The effectiveness of artenspürhunde relies on both well-trained dogs and their human handlers. Dogs' superior sense of smell, with a scent membrane much larger than humans', enables them to detect a multitude of scents imperceptible to us. Kremling, leading the project for the Lower Saxony State Forests, has seen firsthand the dogs' remarkable abilities.
The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in Germany has even established a full-time species detection dog unit, highlighting the method's potential. Dr. Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth, a BfN employee, uses art detection dogs in several conservation projects. Sniffer dogs, as they're known, also aid police, rescue teams, and scientists in various tasks.
Kremling's artenspürhunde project offers a cost-effective and efficient way to tackle invasive alien species. With dogs' superior sense of smell and the dedication of volunteers, this method holds great promise for nature conservation efforts. The success of the project has attracted significant attention, with the NNA's digital short format drawing several hundred viewers from Germany and beyond.
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