Using Trained Pouched Rats to Detect Land Mines: Another Victory for Operant Conditioning

Autor/inn/en	Poling, Alan; Weetjens, Bart; Cox, Christophe; Beyene, Negussie W.; Bach, Harvard; Sully, Andrew
Titel	Using Trained Pouched Rats to Detect Land Mines: Another Victory for Operant Conditioning
Quelle	In: Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44 (2011) 2, S.351-355 (5 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-8855
Schlagwörter	Animals; Safety; Operant Conditioning; Foreign Countries; War; Positive Reinforcement; Weapons; Mozambique + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Animal; Tier; Tiere; Sicherheit; Operante Konditionierung; Ausland; Krieg; Weapon; Waffe; Mosambik
Abstract	We used giant African pouched rats ("Cricetomys gambianus") as land mine-detection animals in Mozambique because they have an excellent sense of smell, weigh too little to activate mines, and are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore are resistant to local parasites and diseases. In 2009 the rats searched 93,400 m[superscript 2] of land, finding 41 mines and 54 other explosive devices. Humans with metal detectors found no additional mines. On average, the rats emitted 0.33 false alarm for every 100 m[superscript 2] searched, which is below the threshold given by International Mine Action Standards for accrediting mine-detection animals. These findings indicate that "Cricetomys" are accurate mine-detection animals and merit continued use in this capacity (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Available from: Department of Applied Behavioral Science. Kansas University, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045-2133. Tel: 785-841-4425; Fax: 785-841-4425; e-mail: behavior@mail.ku.edu; Web site: http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/index.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10