Dogs detect dangerous plant invaders

It is well known that dogs can use their highly developed sense of smell to search out drugs and disaster survivors.Now,some dogs are being trained to find a different kind of threat—plant species that can harm the environment.

An invasive plant species starts to spread in New York's major parks.It is a yellow-flowered bush called Scotch broom.The plant spreads quickly,grows thick and can crowd out native plants.The growth of this invasive species can also close off areas to wildlife.Officials are seeking to stop the plant's growth before it becomes widespread.

One not-for-profit group is using the dogs to help fight Scotch broom and other invasive species.After the dogs identify the species,people then attempt to remove them before they become a wider problem.

A study found that trained dogs could smell and find twice more invasive plants than humans could observe with their eyes.Joshua Beese,a dog handler,has worked with a dog called Dia to hunt for Scotch broom in New York state parks.“If we had to find all these plants ourselves,combing the grass for every tiny plant,it would take so much longer.And we'd still miss a lot,”said Beese.Dia was able to lead him to hundreds of small Scotch broom plants largely hidden by other growth.

Another not-for-profit organization working on the problem is Working Dogs for Conservation.It seeks to train dogs to protect wildlife and wild places,including doing invasive species work.The organization's director,Pete Coppolillo,said,“We've trained over 200 dog and handler teams to help in global wildlife trafficking(非法交易),and now we're doing a lot of invasive species work.” Coppolillo added that human teams had tried for years to find and remove a destructive plant without much success.But after the dogs were brought in to help,the species nearly disappeared within a few years.

Dogs are especially effective at this work because they can smell plants hidden among other species.

阅读检测

1.Why do people want to get rid of Scotch broom?

A.It has done great harm to the environment.

B.It seriously affects the growth of native plants.

C.It can easily make the wildlife poisoned.

D.It has invaded the habitat of wild animals.

2.Why are dogs good at recognizing Scotch broom?

A.They possess sharp sense of smell.

B.They are interested in the plant.

C.They can see the plant clearly.

D.They have received special training.

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It is known that...句型

It is well known that dogs can use their highly developed sense of smell to search out drugs and disaster survivors.众所周知，狗可以利用他们高度发达的嗅觉来搜索出毒品和灾难中的幸存者。

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【句式仿写】众所周知，5G将在我们的日常生活中起着非常重要的作用。

背景知识

狗的嗅觉为什么如此灵敏

狗的嗅觉神经密布在鼻黏膜上，所占面积为人的4倍，对气味的敏感度高于人类40倍以上。据测量，人的嗅觉细胞一般只有500万个，而狗竟达2亿多个，可以分辨大约2万种不同的气味。正因为它有灵敏的嗅觉能力，才能辨别路途、方位及食物、猎物等。人们利用它嗅觉灵敏的绝对优势，培养了军犬、警犬进行刑侦、缉毒、搜爆和救援工作，完成了大量人类无法做到的工作。经过特殊训练的狗，像警犬、军犬、猎犬、牧犬等等，还可用于侦缉和传递各种信息。

蜜蜂是我们生活中再常见不过的昆虫了。它们是水果、蔬菜和坚果的花粉主要传播者，在人类食物供应方面起到了重要作用。如今，小小的蜜蜂也许能给人类带来新的帮助。研究人员表示，养蜂可能会对减少人们的压力和抑郁有所帮助。