文章基本信息

标题：USING TRAINED POUCHED RATS TO DETECT LAND MINES: ANOTHER VICTORY FOR OPERANT CONDITIONING
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作者：Alan Poling ; Bart Weetjens ; Christophe Cox 等
期刊名称：Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
印刷版ISSN：0021-8855
电子版ISSN：1938-3703
出版年度：2011
卷号：44
期号：2
页码：351-355
DOI：10.1901/jaba.2011.44-351
语种：English
出版社：University of Kansas - Dept Human Development
摘要：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 m² 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 m² 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.
关键词：land mines; pouched rats; applied behavior analysis; animal learning; olfaction