Testing the Ability of Dogs to Detect Different Odor Concentrations of the Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis) in Japan

Abstract

The Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) is regarded as a problem in the Ogasawara Islands. The decision to use eradication measures depends on the limit of detection at low densities. We tested the ability of two dogs to discriminate the odor of anole to assess the possibility of using dogs to detect anoles at low densities. The two dogs were trained to discriminate the basic target odor concentration (512 anoles/ha) on 10-g coconut peat sachets. When they reached 100% accuracy, they were tested at different odor concentrations (densities of 385, 256, 128, 26, and 3 anoles/ha). During training, both dogs achieved 100% accuracy after 2 daily sessions in only 2 days. They were able to select the positive odor concentration sachet, and their accuracy was from 75 to 100%. We believe that testing using soil from sites of high anole high density and at the limit of detection in the Ogasawara Islands will be useful.