A nose for nature: meet super-sniffer detection dogs protecting great crested newts

Bounding with endless enthusiasm, detection dogs Jack and Keira are being trained to sniff out great crested newts. They are among only a handful of dogs in the UK working in this specialised role, with their licensed handler, ecologist Nikki Morton from Morph Ecological Consultants.

Recently, they showed off their highly specialised skills to our team and a group of Oxford Brookes University undergraduate and masters’ ecology students. The session took place at the Science Oxford Centre as part of a great crested newt survey training, run by Turnstone Ecology for the fourth year at the centre.

With a healthy population of great crested newts and the additional efforts to protect them during construction on site, the ponds and surroundings of The Oxford Trust’s Wood Centre for Innovation and Science Oxford Centre provide an ideal training ground. We spoke to Nikki to find out more about this exciting work.

The ‘superpower’ of detection dogs

Detection dogs are being used more and more in conservation and ecology, as well as many other settings that benefit from a dog’s keen sense of smell. Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors compared to 6 million in humans, so their sense of smell is vastly superior!

Picking up newt scent is difficult, even for dogs with a powerful nose. But some super-sniffer dogs can pick up scent even when newts are beneath the soil or buried among dense habitats. When carefully trained, these dogs can be an additional tool for ecologists conducting habitat assessments and surveys, particularly in situations where other traditional survey methods are challenging or less effective.

Why great crested newts?

Great crested newts are protected under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). This means it’s illegal to kill, injure, capture or disturb them, or damage and destroy key elements of their habitat.

Property developers need to assess the potential impact of proposed developments on great crested newt populations and, as part of their planning application, have plans in place to protect the newts and their habitats at all phases of the development. Handling them without a license is a criminal offence. Surveys and mitigation measures such as moving and containing newts for their protection can only be done by licensed ecologists.

What makes a successful team

Dogs who excel at detection work are often found among the ‘unwanted’ dogs, those often deemed a little ‘crazy’ and whose drive and energy levels don’t suit many family settings. However, Nikki assures us Jack and Keira are most certainly part of the family and would remain so if they showed no potential as detection dogs. The success of the dogs is very much dependent on the relationship between handler and dog.

“The dogs are only as good as the handler,” says Nikki.

It’s about the relationship you build with the dog and being able to read the dog’s response to situations.

Training dogs is a progressive process, carefully imprinting and constantly reinforcing the scent of newts to the dogs. Detecting newt scent is extra challenging because newts change so much structurally over their lifecycle, and with that, so does their scent. Nikki constantly reinforces training, and so, visits the Science Oxford Centre frequently.

Helping, not harming

Although highly energetic, detection dogs should not show any predatory behaviour or desire to chase wildlife so that newts are not harmed. When a dog picks up a newt’s scent, they simply lie down at the site and wait for a reward — usually their favourite ball. As great crested newts are protected, Nikki also needs special licenses as a conservation detection dog handler to train her dogs.

Keira in action

Jack and Keira and other detection dogs are changing perceptions. While ecologists may be perceived as a ‘headache’ to property developers, using dogs has multiple advantages. They can be more accurate, speed up surveys, confirm the presence of newts out of season, assist in speeding up translocation of newts and reduce the need for trapping. Reduced delays and speedier processes are a bonus to any developer! And, Nikki says, having a happy, energetic dog as part of the team also helps make ecologists more welcome.

Part of a toolkit

Detection dogs are just one of various tools and techniques used for surveying great crested newts. They are particularly valuable for finding newts during their terrestrial phase, as they can uncover newts finding refuge under logs, rocks or artificial debris, and are much more efficient than humans searching by hand.

Other survey methods around ponds include using bottle traps; ‘torching’; netting; egg searching, and environmental DNA sampling.

Science Oxford Centre team install temporary bottle traps in our ponds as part of the training. Bottle traps are good for surveying ponds with poor visibility but can harm newts if not released timeously. Bottle traps can only be used overnight for a limited time and when temperatures are appropriate, the shortest being 7 hours in peak summer months.

Conservation

The data provided from great crested newt surveys isn’t just about meeting requirements for planning applications and property developments. It provides important information about the health of the populations locally and nationally.

We have been pleased to have seen increasing numbers of great crested newts around our ponds since the site opened in 2019. We have worked hard to protect their and other species’ habitats and improve the biodiversity of our unique outdoor space.

We are also pleased to be able offer our space for broadening conservation efforts in our region, whether that is by providing our site for training ecology students or for training ecology dogs!

 

Feature image: Keira (left) and Jack with handler and ecologist Nikki Morton (right)

 

Please note that due the habitats we are protecting, we do not allow dogs on site without prior arrangement for particular purposes.

Do not attempt to set up your own traps in any ponds near you as you may harm aquatic life. Remember, great crested newts must not be handled without a license.