Specially trained sniffer dogs are on the trail of endangered insects in Victoria's high country.

The La Trobe University trial is using three sniffer dogs, a border collie, black labrador and samoyed, to seek out the endangered and elusive alpine and threatened Mount Stirling stoneflies at Falls Creek and Mount Buller by detecting their odour without harming the insects.

Although bright orange, and being the largest stonefly in Australia, the alpine stonefly, Thaumatoperla alpina, is difficult to find, particularly in its alpine-stream breeding habitat.

media_camera Bayar sniffs out the alpine stonefly.

“This is an exciting and innovative way to revolutionise how we gather data on our endangered species, no matter how big or small,” said Dr Julia Mynott from La Trobe’s Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems. “The alpine stonefly is an aquatic insect that ­hatches in the streams of the Bogong High Plains, where it lives for up to two years.

“The larvae often burrow underneath cobbles, debris or boulders while the adults only emerge between January and April to reproduce.”

Dr Mynott said the ­research aimed at producing an understanding of stonefly population and distribution, and had already shown ­success at recent trials.

“Insects might not be that appealing to everyone, but they are important for ecosystem functioning, particularly in alpine areas that are environmentally important and under threat from climate change,” she said.

“We chose the alpine stonefly as a starting point because they’re such an interesting animal. They have wings but are flightless. They’re sensitive to changes in water quality and, despite their role as one of the top predators in the alpine region, their inability to fly makes them vulnerable to other predators in this environment.”

media_camera Border collie Sasha on the trail of the alpine stonefly.

The second trial phase, also involving volunteers, search­ed for the smaller sister-­species, the threatened Mount Stirling stonefly at Mount Buller and Mount Stirling.

The alpine stonefly is one of the smallest animals a dog has been trained to successfully detect in its natural habitat.

The dogs were trained at La Trobe’s Anthrozoology Research Group Dog Lab in Bendigo, where they spent seven weeks memorising the stonefly odour and being rewarded with food or ball games when they found their target.

mark.dunn@news.com.au