Scientists assessing long-term efforts to eradicate invasive ants on the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast have enlisted a four-legged expert to make sure a project to kill off the destructive pests has succeeded.
A yellow Labrador named Tobias has lived for three months with a handler on Santa Cruz Island. The specially trained dog keeps its snout to the ground, rooting through more than 1.6 square miles (4.1 square kilometers) of underbrush, searching for nests of Argentine ants that have threatened the ecosystem after they were introduced decades ago.
Christina Boser, an ecologist with the Nature Conservancy group, said Tuesday that Tobias has not yet discovered any new ant populations – a sign that a project started in 2009 to wipe out the unwanted insects has probably worked.
“The ants are very hard to find,” said Boser, adding that researchers decided to try a detection dog after first using lures made with a synthetic ant pheromone. “He’s good at his job, and he enjoys it a lot.”
Researchers speculate the ants arrived in the Channel Islands more than 30 years ago when boats used by contractors did work there.
Boser researchers have not destroyed several old nests to make sure Tobias has something to sniff out so he can get his work reward: A favorite ball.
Argentine ants found in the country and in other South American nations have crossed borders and bedeviled homeowners and farmers along the US West Coast for decades.
In a protected environment like Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park, the tiny pests aggressively compete with local ants for nectar, Boser said. Ultimately they can prevent bees from pollinating flowers – stopping seed production and killing off plant species, she said.
Starting seven years ago, teams began using helicopters to distribute beads containing a low dose of pesticide mixed with sugar water across infested areas of the islands northwest of Los Angeles. Seduced by the sweetness, foraging worker ants gobbled up the bait and headed back to their nests, where they poisoned ant queens. Without queens, the colonies eventually died off.
Ky Zimmerman and his Labrador Tobias search for nests of Argentine ants on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California, August 10, 2017. /AP Photo
“We’re now at the point that we’re going back in there to see if it worked,” Boser said.
The fact that Tobias’ searches are coming up empty gives scientists hope, she said, but it will take further study of long-term data for them to declare the ants “functionally eradicated.”
Tobias, owned by the Working Dogs For Conservation group, previously sniffed out invasive quagga mussels at a lake in Montana.
When the stint on Santa Cruz Island ends, the dog will eventually be dispatched for the same ant-sniffing job on San Clemente Island, the southernmost link in the Channel Islands chain.
“We’re happy to keep him working, and he’s happy to do it,” Boser said.
Ky Zimmerman and his Labrador Tobias search for nests of Argentine ants on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California, June 21, 2017. /AP Photo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — It may take Josef Newgarden some time to regain the trust of his fellow IndyCar drivers and he knows it.
Two days after Newgarden's season-opening win at St. Petersburg, Florida, was wiped off the board for manipulating the push-to-pass system on his car, the popular driver featured on the “100 Days to Indy” show is grappling with the hit to his reputation. It's also a contract year for Newgarden with a potential big payday awaiting.
The two-time series champion and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner was disqualified from the race — along with fellow Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin — on Wednesday, though both are eligible for Sunday's race at Barber Motorsports Park and races the rest of the season. Newgarden knows it may take time to convince his peers he's not a cheater.
“Certainly not going to come from words,” he said Friday during a news conference to discuss the disqualification. “It’s just going to take repetitive action. That’s all you can do is just repetitive action and hopefully I can stand on that in the future. However long the takes, how many years, if I’m given the time, I’ll just try to earn it through action.”
Other drivers were skeptical of Newgarden's contention that he unknowingly broke the rules. Newgarden said he did use the push-to-pass at St. Petersburg but incorrectly thought it was allowed on restarts.
Andretti Global driver Colton Herta, who gained a third-place finish at St. Pete following the disqualifications, said he could accept that as a one-time mistake.
“But what’s not possible is to go to Long Beach with the intent to use it again,” Herta said. IndyCar said the manipulation wasn’t discovered until the pre-race warmup in Long Beach, California, nearly six weeks after the opener.
Defending series champion Alex Palou said he can relate to having fellow drivers regard you with distrust. He was sued by McLaren Racing (now Arrow McLaren) after changing his mind and staying at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022.
"I think the toughest part is when you see the other teams and other drivers and they look at you differently," Palou said. "That’s the hardest thing, especially when there are so many people and everybody looks at you the same way. And it’s repeatedly, constantly. So they keep on reminding you without saying anything. I think that’s the toughest part. It’s not the end of the world. It’s bad but nobody killed anybody.”
Herta believes the situation also reflects on Team Penske, not just Newgarden. The head of the team is Roger Penske, the owner of IndyCar and one of the most respected leaders in the history of motorsports. The 87-year-old Penske earlier this week texted The Associated Press: “I am embarrassed.”
“At the end of the day it’s Penske,” Herta said. “The drivers, even though they took advantage of it and it’s wrong, it shouldn’t have even been in the car to begin with.”
Herta's Andretti teammate, Marcus Ericsson, said he is trying to give Newgarden the benefit of the doubt.
“I like to believe the best of people so I don’t believe they did anything on purpose,” Ericsson said. "But what is strange to me is that it didn’t get noticed when it happened and especially after it happened when they looked back at the race, when they looked back at the data and when they looked back at the videos. That’s why it’s surprising that nobody noticed.
“That’s the strange part.”
Romain Grosjean, a veteran Formula 1 driver who joined IndyCar in 2021, shrugged off the controversy.
“I haven’t lost any respect for them,” Grosjean said. “They tried, they got caught and move on.”
AP IndyCar: https://apnews.com/hub/indycar
FILE _ Will Power, of Australia, talks with a crew member following practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Monday, May 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. Power said Thursday, April 25, 2024, he was unaware of any manipulations to Team Penske’s push-to-power system until after last weekend’s IndyCar race at Long Beach and never illegally used the mechanism.. Power finished fourth and while his result was not thrown out, he was docked 10 points and all three Penske drivers were fined $25,000. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon, left, is sprayed by Chip Ganassi Racing driver Álex Palou, right, after winning the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach auto race Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden races during a qualifying session for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach auto race Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
FILE - Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden, center, celebrates his first place finish along with second place finisher Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward of Mexico, left, and third place finisher Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand in the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Team Penske suffered a humiliating disqualification Wednesday, April 24, when reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was stripped of his victory in the season-opening race for manipulating his push-to-pass system. Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished third in the opener on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, was also disqualified. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden talks in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, April 26, 2024, about his recent disqualification in the season-opening IndyCar auto race. Newgarden is preparing for Sunday's race at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park. (AP Photo/John Zenor)
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden talks in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, April 26, 2024, about his recent disqualification in the season-opening IndyCar auto race. Newgarden is preparing for Sunday's race at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park. (AP Photo/John Zenor)
FILE - Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden, right, celebrates his victory with team owner Roger Penske after the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, Sunday, March 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Team Penske suffered a humiliating disqualification Wednesday, April 24, when reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was stripped of his victory in the season-opening race for manipulating his push-to-pass system. Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished third in the opener on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, was also disqualified. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
