Data for: An experimental assessment of detection dog ability to locate great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) at a channeled distance and through soil

Detection dogs are increasingly used to locate cryptic wildlife species, but their use for amphibians is still rather underexplored. In the present paper we focus on the great crested newts (Triturus cristatus), a European species which is experiencing high conservation concerns across its range, and assess the ability of a trained detection dog to locate individuals during their terrestrial phase. More specifically, we used a series of randomised, double-blinded experiments to document whether a range of distances between target newts and the detection dog affects the ability of localisation, and to assess the ability and efficiency of target newt detection in simulated subterranean refugia through 20 cm of two common soil types (clay and sandy soil, both with and without air vents to mimic mammal burrows, a common refuge used by T. cristatus). The detection dog accurately located all individual T. cristatus across the entire range of tested distances (25 cm - 2 m). The substrate trial..., Soil interference trials
Thirty T. cristatus (16 males and 14 females) were retrieved from a quarry in south Gloucestershire between July and September 2021.  All T. cristatus used for the experiments were individually weighed to the nearest 0.1 g and measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the cloaca to the nearest mm. Two soil types were used: sandy soil collected from Calne Without, Bowden Hill, Wiltshire, Southwest England (OS grid reference ST954684), and clay soil collected from Broad Lane, Westerleigh Road, Westerleigh, South Gloucestershire, Southwest England (OS grid reference: ST695795). For soil characterisation, three reference samples were obtained from each site using a 20 cm long core, and merged into one sealed plastic bag for analysis at the University of Salford. In order to measure the pH, 20 ml of fresh soil was placed into a clean 50ml beaker. Distilled water was added to the 40 ml mark, and the mixture was left on an automatic stirrer for 15 minutes. The p..., Data can be accessed using Microsoft Excel.