Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and search interval (Huso
2011
). Evidence from overseas suggests that human based
searches provide variable detection rates ranging from 13 % (Schnell et al.
2007
) to
87 % (Erickson et al.
2000
).Comparisonsbetweenhumansearchesanddogsearches
have demonstrated that dogs have a superior ability to detect bird and bat carcasses;
particularly with small carcasses or in dense vegetation (Homan et al.
2001
; Arnett
2006
; Paula et al.
2011
; Reed et al.
2011
; Mathews et al.
2013
). In addition, the time
taken for a dog to undertake the survey ranges from 4 to 12 times faster than that of
humans (Nussear et al.
2008
; Paula et al.
2011
; Mathews et al.
2013
).
Dogs are used to detect biological scents in a number of fields including police
tracking, search and rescue, truffle searches, hunting, cadaver searches and even in the
diagnosis of some forms of cancer (Browne et al.
2006
). The level of training required
for many of these tasks means the costs of employing professional dogs and handlers
can be significant, however in the detection of birds and bats, it has been demonstrated
that dogs can still achieve high detection rates with minimal training and hence less
costs (Homan et al.
2001
; Arnett
2006
; Bennett
2011
; Reitan et al.
2011
). Using dogs
for carcass surveys can greatly increase the area surveyed and the detection rate of
survey targets (Gutzwiller
1990
; Reed et al.
2011
) and with comparable costs can
greatly increase the quality and quantity of the data that can be collected.
The use of dogs to perform carcass searches at wind farms is growing in its appli-
cation worldwide (Mathews et al.
2013
). There are, however, only a small number
of international studies investigating the use of dogs for mortality surveys in the
wind industry and none from Australia. The purpose of this paper is to provide my
observations and personal experience from 8 years of conducting carcasses searches
with dogs. In this paper I will detail general findings and survey techniques which
have evolved over the 8 years to ensure searcher efficiency and accuracy is main-
tained. It is hoped that this information will support industry to consider using dogs
as an alternative methodology to human searches and encourage formal studies to
quantify and confirm my observations.
In Australia, the time involved from planning to a wind farm becoming opera-
tional can mean that permit conditions in relation to bird and bat monitoring may be
outdated and not reflect current best practice and scientific knowledge. In some
cases, the permit requirements imposed on carcass searches may also be prescrip-
tive, with no room for flexibility, meaning alterations to methodology require re-
approval and may be difficult and time consuming. Monitoring programs which are
based on the objectives of the survey and provide flexibility to incorporate site char-
acteristics and current research and knowledge will provide more robust informa-
tion on the impacts of the wind farm on birds and bats.
History in Australia
Dogs have been used to perform mortality searches at wind facilities in Australia
since2005.InformaltrialswereconductedattheChallicumHillswindfacilityin
October 2005. These compared the speed and accuracy of a single dog (Elmo) in
