Dogs Smell Out Dangerous Plant Invaders

 

It is already known that dogs can use their highly developed sense of smell to search out drugs, explosives and disaster survivors¹. Now, some are being trained to find a different kind of threat - plant species² that can harm the environment.

New York officials have identified an invasive plant species starting to spread in several of the state’s major parks. The plant is a yellow-flowered bush called Scotch³ broom. Scotch broom is widespread in areas of America’s Pacific Northwest. But it is still fairly new to New York. Officials are seeking to stop the plant’s growth before it becomes widespread.

The plant spreads quickly, grows thick and can crowd out native plants. The growth of invasive species can also close off areas to wildlife.

One not-for-profit group is using the dogs to help fight Scotch broom and other invasive species. The New York-New Jersey⁴ Trail Conference launched its Conservation Dogs program in 2018. The program coordinates⁵ the training of dogs to find invasive species. It receives money from donations as well as New York’s Department of Environment Conservation.

After the dogs identify the species, people then attempt to remove the plants before they become a wider problem.

A 2010 study reported high success rates of dogs using their noses to search out invasive species. The study found that trained dogs could smell and find two times more invasive plants than humans could observe with their eyes.

Joshua Beese is a dog handler with the Trail Conference group. He has worked with a Labrador retriever called Dia to hunt for Scotch broom in New York state parks.

“If we had to find all these plants ourselves, combing the grass for every tiny plant, it would take so much longer. And we’d still miss a lot,” Beese told The Associated Press. Dia was able to lead him to hundreds of small Scotch broom plants largely hidden by other growth. Beese has trained Dia and other dogs to find other invasive species too.

Another not-for-profit organization working on the problem is Working Dogs for Conservation. It is based in Bozeman, Montana. It seeks to train dogs “to protect wildlife and wild places,” including invasive species work. The group has trained dogs in several states including Montana, Iowa, Colorado and Hawaii.

The organization’s director, Pete Coppolillo, said, “We’ve trained over 200 dog and handler teams to help in global wildlife trafficking, and now we’re doing a lot of invasive species work.”

Coppolillo added that human teams had tried for years to find and remove a destructive⁶ plant in one area of Montana without much success. But after a border collie and golden retriever from Working Dogs for Conservation were brought in to help, the species nearly disappeared within a few years.

Dogs are especially effective at this work because they can smell plants hidden among other species. People often need to see flowers on the plants to make an identification⁷.

“That’s a game-changer,” Coppolillo said. “Each plant can set up to 15,000 seeds a year, and seeds can live seven years in the soil. Dogs find plants before they flower and reproduce⁸.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

species – n. group of plants or animals that share similar qualities

invasive – adj. tending to spread in an uncontrollable way

crowd out – v. to force something out of a place by filling the space

comb – v. search a place or an area very carefully

global – adj. happening worldwide

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

3 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

7 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。

8 reproduce   

v.生育，繁殖，复制，重做

参考例句：

• The machine can reproduce a key in two minutes.这机器能在两分钟内复制一把钥匙。
• The picture will reproduce well.这照片会印得很清楚。