Study Overview:

The goal of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy and efficiency of using scent-detection dogs to determine the presence or absence of California tiger salamanders (Ambystoma californiense) introduced barred tiger salamanders (A. mavortium), and CTS/BTS hybrids through detection of adult individuals in upland habitat. All three distinct population segments of these salamanders are considered endangered or threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of California. Noninvasively detecting the salamanders in upland habitat is challenging because the species spends the majority of its life in water or underground. More efficient surveys for cryptic species such as these require a technique that is sensitive enough to detect the animal when it is hidden from view. One detection dog, Vector, was successfully trained to recognize the scent of California tiger salamander/barred tiger salamander hybrids and to discriminate the scent from sympatric amphibian species. The results of this pilot study suggest that detection dogs can offer a noninvasive method for surveying tiger salamanders in upland habitat.