{"id":45327,"date":"2021-08-06T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/conservation-dog-has-a-nose-for-high-alpine-bumblebees\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T11:00:00","slug":"conservation-dog-has-a-nose-for-high-alpine-bumblebees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/conservation-dog-has-a-nose-for-high-alpine-bumblebees\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation dog has a nose for high alpine bumblebees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jacqueline
Jacqueline Staab\u2019s dog, Darwin, was trained as a conservation detection dog to seek out bumblebees and their nests. (Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab)<\/span>Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FRISCO (AP) \u2013 Jacqueline Staab found a way to combine her two passions in her conservation research efforts: bees and dogs.<\/p>\n

Staab\u2019s dog, Darwin, was trained as a conservation detection dog to seek out bumblebees and their nests, and Staab said he\u2019s the only conservation dog in the country that specializes in bees. The research Staab and Darwin do together is for her master\u2019s degree in evolutionary ecology.<\/p>\n

For the past four or five years, Staab has been coming to Summit County on her own to research bees, and this year is the first she\u2019s had Darwin along for the ride. The duo specializes in alpine bumblebees, making Summit County an attractive research destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine a better place to do research with Darwin,\u201d Staab said. \u201cAlpine bumblebees are also like a canary in the coal mine for climate change. \u2026 By seeing how they\u2019re reacting out here, it can help us predict future movements and shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staab and Darwin have done surveys around Hoosier Pass and throughout parts of the White River National Forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not seeing very many bumblebees, so we definitely have our work cut out for us,\u201d Staab said. \u201cThis is honestly the lowest number of bumblebees I\u2019ve seen out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bumblebees are opportunistic nesters, meaning they will nest anywhere they can. Staab said they like to use abandoned animal burrows, sheds, wood piles or large grass clumps.<\/p>\n

Staab said that until recently, most bumblebee conservation research has been focused on their need for floral resources. She said there are two other key aspects of research: their need for an overwintering site and a nesting site.<\/p>\n

\"Jacqueline
Jacqueline Staab\u2019s dog, Darwin, was trained as a conservation detection dog to seek out bumblebees and their nests. (Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab)<\/span>Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIn order to conserve the species, we need to know all parts of the puzzle,\u201d Staab said. \u201cBumblebees are really important; they\u2019re keystone pollinators. \u2026 If we start to lose pollinator diversity, we\u2019re going to lose plant diversity as well, and that\u2019s just going to start a cascade of ecological problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with Darwin, Staab said their research adds novel information about bumblebee nesting habits and preferences, which can help conservation organizations determine how best to allocate funding to help them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more we can find out about the full picture of their nesting preferences, their nesting ecology \u2013 we really know nothing \u2013 the better we can see the whole picture so we can find a solution,\u201d Staab said.<\/p>\n

Training Darwin<\/div>\n

Staab said there is a certain set of traits that detection dogs need. Darwin, a German shorthaired pointer, came from a lineage of working dogs, and pointers naturally hold their heads close to ground and have a high drive.<\/p>\n

Staab got Darwin when he was a puppy and sent him to Highland Canine Training in North Carolina when he was 6 months old. Trainers at Highland Canine had worked with other conservation dogs before but not specifically for bees.<\/p>\n

Amber Siebsen, who led Darwin\u2019s training, said he was a natural. Darwin was the first conservation dog Siebsen trained; she typically trains other detection dogs for law enforcement and search and rescue.<\/p>\n

Siebsen said Darwin\u2019s training process is similar to how she trains other dogs; the main difference was the environment where she trained him. Darwin was also trained to stay a few feet away when detecting bees, for his own safety and the bees,\u2019 while narcotics dogs are trained to get as close as possible to the source of the scent.<\/p>\n

\"Jacqueline
Jacqueline Staab\u2019s dog, Darwin, was trained as a conservation detection dog to seek out bumblebees and their nests. (Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab)<\/span>Courtesy of Jacqueline Staab<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The first step in training is imprinting, which is essentially teaching the dog which odor to sniff for. This is done by placing the scent in a pipe with holes drilled in it. In Darwin\u2019s case, the smell came from bee nests.<\/p>\n

Siebsen said once the pipe is filled with the odor, trainers play fetch with the dog for about 75 minutes to expose it to the smell. Siebsen said the 75-minute period came from a study the training center\u2019s president did about how long it takes for a dog to learn a new smell.<\/p>\n

The next step in the training process is behavior shaping, which is teaching the dog what to do when it finds an odor. Siebsen said this was easier for Darwin because, as their name suggests, pointers naturally point.<\/p>\n

When a dog does what she wants it to do \u2013 like point to the source of an odor \u2013 Siebsen will reinforce the behavior with a ball. Then she\u2019ll add in multiple boxes with different scents to start teaching the dog how to hunt, using the ball whenever Darwin pointed to a box with the correct scent.<\/p>\n

Siebsen said dogs like Darwin are much more capable of finding things in nature than humans are. Staab added that one-third of a dog\u2019s brain is controlled by its olfactory system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking a natural skill \u2026 and we\u2019ll just kind of teach them to use it to our advantage, giving them a game that satisfies their needs and accomplishes what we need,\u201d Siebsen said. \u201cWith Darwin, you\u2019re able to clear a large chunk of forest or field very quickly, much faster than you would be able to just walking around and looking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other types of conservation detection dogs will seek out bats, whales, jaguars, weeds and various types of invasive species. Staab said she thinks Darwin specializing solely in bumblebees is an advantage because their scent is so faint.<\/p>\n

Siebsen added that when training detection dogs, she always gives them the opportunity to make a mistake. She had the scents of different kinds of bees at the facility when training Darwin, and he never made a mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about bumblebees that he can smell that\u2019s significantly different to other bees,\u201d Siebsen said. \u201cIf you change the species of bumblebee or the type of bumblebee on him, he\u2019ll still indicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staab said she is always looking for help in her bumblebee research and encouraged anyone who has seen a bumblebee nest to contact her at darwinthebeedog@gmail.com<\/a> or on Darwin\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research in Colorado mountains can shed light on changing climate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,1362],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-45327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-southwest-life"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45327"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=45327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}