Calculations for: Detector dog work assessing probability of detection for Yellow crazy ant

The use of detector dogs within environmental programs has increased greatly over the past few decades, yet their search methods are not standardised, and variation in dog performance remains not well quantified or understood. There is much science to be done to improve the general utility of detector dogs, especially for invertebrate surveys.
We report research for detector dog work conducted as part of yellow crazy ant eradication. One dog was first used to quantify probability of detection (POD) within a strictly controlled trial. We then investigated the search patterns of two dogs when worked through sites using different transect spacings. Specifically we quantified their presence within set distances of all locations in each assessment area, as well as the time they took to assess each area. In a GIS we then calculated the relative percentage of the entire search area within six distance categories, and combined this information with the POD values to obtain a site-level POD.
The...