Andrew Salywon. Using Trained Dogs to Detect Endangered Spiranthes delitescens
The objective of this work is to determine the ability of detection dogs to identify the presence of Spiranthes delitescens. If successful, the use of detection dogs would be a powerful tool to aid future surveys to relocate historical populations or discover previously undocumented populations of Canelo Hills ladies’ tresses. Utilizing trained dogs and their powerful sense of smell can greatly aid conservationists by making plant surveying much more efficient, thus requiring less human effort and resources. Spiranthes delitescens have recently been observed in small numbers at only one of four historically documented sites.
Regular evening programs are presented on the third Tuesday of the month, March through October, at 7:00 PM via Zoom. Some of the meetings have been recorded and can be viewed the Flagstaff Chapter’s Facebook or at The Arizona Native Plant Society. For details about upcoming meetings, please see our email distribution list (naris123@cs.com), Facebook page, or AZNPS.com.
