ArticleEcology and evolution2025
A Rebuttal of McKeague et al. (2024): "Conservation Detection Dogs: A Critical Review of Efficacy and Methodology".
Article in Ecology and evolution, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This letter to the editor is offered in rebuttal of "Conservation detection dogs: A critical review of efficacy and methodology," by McKeague et al. (2024), published in Ecology and Evolution. Drawing from over a decade of experience as a conservation detection dog handler within one of the longest standing organizations in North America, and with over two decades as a field biologist and researcher, the author shares insights around fundamental misgivings and concerns regarding the methodology used for the selection and review of studies, the core analyses conducted, and the ensuing conclusions and recommendations. A detailed rebuttal/critical review has been prepared and is available via request from the author.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.