Tuesday, January 14 from 6:30 to 8 pm ET
Presenter: Dr. Jennifer Essler, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, Canine Training & Management at SUNY Cobleskill
FREE
Join us virtually for the presentation Invasive Spotted Lanternflies: Progress and Potential of Canine Detectors with Dr. Jennifer Essler of SUNY Cobleskill.
The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper insect indigenous to China and Vietnam. Initially reported in Pennsylvania in 2014, the spotted lanternfly has become an invasive species seen in much of the Northeastern United States and is now spreading to many other states across the country. This insect feeds on a wide range of plants and excretes a sugary fluid that causes a “sooty mold” that further damages plants. The spotted lanternfly has one generation per year, typically hatching in late spring, becoming adult phase by late July, and laying eggs throughout fall until winter. At this point, adults die, and the eggs overwinter before hatching and starting the cycle again. It is during this time that it has been hypothesized that they spread the quickest, with transportation by humans being the most frequent route, as eggs can be laid on almost any outdoor surface. Recently, there have been multiple investigations into the use of detection dogs to find these egg masses, especially around quarantine zones. This presentation will discuss some of this research, including the initial investigations, the current use of these dogs to find spotted lanternflies, and potential future avenues for using dogs as a tool in this field.
About Jennifer Essler, Ph.D.
Dr. Essler graduated from Georgia State University in 2011 with a B.A. in Psychology and her M.Sc. in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University in 2013, working with capuchin monkeys investigating aspects of cooperation, decision-making, and inequity aversion at both universities. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Cognition at the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Vienna, Austria. Here she investigated how domestication affected inequity aversion and cooperation among hand-raised, pack-living wolves and dogs at the Wolf Science Center in Ernstbrunn, Austria. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center where she worked research including investigations into the odor profiles of ovarian cancer, as well as the feasibility of utilizing detection dogs in the fight against antiquities smuggling, invasive species detection, and COVID-19. She is currently an Assistant Professor at SUNY Cobleskill where she teaches classes on animal behavior and canine detection. Here her research is on conservation and invasive species detection dogs, currently looking into the potential use of detection dogs in finding the invasive round goby fish.
Please use this Zoom link to register for
Zoom into Nature: Spotted Lanternflies
Organizer: Renee Boronka, rboronka@wrlandconservancy.org, 216-533-8761