Einsatz von Artenspürhunden zum Nachweis der Zauneidechse (Lacerta agilis) im Winterquartier

Use of conservation detection dogs to detect the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) in its winter hibernation site // Species detection dogs are increasingly used in species conservation as an additional method to detect target species. In the present study, the Kompetenzzentrum Artenkartierung of DB InfraGO AG assessed the extent to which winter surveys using such dogs provide evidence of sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) occurrences. Areas along railway tracks were identified and surveyed during the reptiles’ active season based on conventional reptile surveys. Between January and March from 2024 to 2026, 21 of these 100 × 5 m areas with confirmed sightings were surveyed by six species-detection dog teams. The winter surveys confirmed 86 % of the sites where sand lizards had been detected in summer. The results provide evidence that species-detection dogs reliably identify the presence of sand lizards during hibernation. This method thus enables year-round monitoring of the species and extends the time window for species conservation assessments, which was previously limited to a few months a year.