Register      Login
Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AM > AM09031
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(1)

Hybridisation between dingoes and domestic dogs: a comment on Jones (2009)

A. S. Glen
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Department of Environment & Conservation and Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Dwellingup Research Centre, Banksiadale Road, Dwellingup, WA 6213, Australia. Email: al.glen@hotmail.com

Australian Mammalogy 32(1) 76-77 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM09031
Submitted: 26 October 2009  Accepted: 19 November 2009   Published: 24 March 2010

Abstract

The recent review by Jones (2009) presents a strong argument that Victoria’s wild dog population cannot reliably be categorised into dingoes (Canis lupus dingo), feral dogs (C. l. familiaris) and hybrids. This presents a problem in the light of the dingo’s recent listing as a threatened species in that state. Wildlife managers must come to grips with questions regarding the relative conservation value of ‘dingoes’ with varying degrees of domestic dog ancestry. This will require improved knowledge of the ecological function of wild dogs, as well as extensive research into public attitudes towards the animals.

Additional keywords: conservation value, ecological function, introgression, social values.


Acknowledgements

A. Glen is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. Sincere thanks to D. Sutherland and three anonymous referees for feedback on an earlier draft.


References

Anon. (2007). Final Recommendation on Nomination Number 789, Canis lupus dingo. Scientific Advisory Committee, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne.

Breckwoldt R. (1988). ‘A Very Elegant Animal: The Dingo.’ (Angus and Robertson: Sydney.)

Claridge, A. W. , and Hunt, R. (2008). Evaluating the role of the dingo as a trophic regulator: additional practical suggestions. Ecological Management & Restoration 9, 116–119.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Corbett L. (2001). The conservation status of the dingo Canis lupus dingo in Australia, with particular reference to New South Wales: threats to pure dingoes and potential solutions. In ‘A Symposium on the Dingo’. (Eds C. R. Dickman and D. Lunney.) pp. 10–19. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)

Daniels, M. J. , and Corbett, L. K. (2003). Redefining introgressed protected mammals: when is a wildcat a wild cat and a dingo a wild dog? Wildlife Research 30, 213–218.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Gollan K. (1984). The Australian dingo: in the shadow of man. In ‘Vertebrate Zoogeography and Evolution in Australasia’. (Eds M. Archer and G. Clayton.) pp. 921–927. (Hesperian Press: Perth.)

Johnson, C. N. , Isaac, J. L. , and Fisher, D. O. (2007). Rarity of a top predator triggers continent-wide collapse of mammal prey: dingoes and marsupials in Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences 274, 341–346.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Rose D. B. (2000). ‘Dingo Makes Us Human: Life and Land in an Australian Aboriginal Culture.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Spencer R.-J. , Lapidge S. J. , Dall D. , and Humphrys S. (2008). Bringing out the mongrel in Australian dingoes: the evolution of wild dog body size. In ‘Proceedings of the 14th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Control Conference’. p. 149. (VPC: Darwin.).

Wallach, A. D. , Ritchie, E. G. , Read, J. , and O’Neill, A. J. (2009). More than mere numbers: the impact of lethal control on the social stability of a top-order predator. PLoS ONE 4, e6861.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |