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 trials revealed that the detection dog could locate individuals also through soil. As expected, the detection time during the soil discrimination trials was significantly reduced for treatments with vents. Contrary to existing studies with detection dogs in human forensic contexts, however, detection was generally faster for T. cristatus under clay soil compared to sandy soil. Our study provides a general baseline for the use of detection dogs in locating T. cristatus and similar amphibian species during their terrestrial phase.