Adapting the ‘PAWS’ animal monitoring tool for surveillance of insects and other small animals

Abstract

A new tool for animal detection and monitoring (‘PAWS’) has been developed to allow for discrimination between mammalian species by analysing their print characteristics as they cross a waterproof sensing surface. Until recently, the application of this tool has been focused on detecting NZ’s native mammals. However, we have now developed an alternative surface design which is substantially more sensitive, and can detect the prints of animals much less than 1 gram in weight.

There is now potential for PAWS to be adapted for the detection and surveillance of other invasive species beyond mammals. These recent advancements have resulted in investigation of the suitability of this tool for detecting species such as invertebrates, which could open up a new era in biosecurity surveillance. We provide examples of recent advancements in this detection technology and discuss its suitability for invertebrate monitoring