DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2547d7wsx
title: Stable dingo population structure and purity over 11 years of lethal management

description: Interactions between predators and humans are a key driver of
 human-wildlife conflicts and can underpin the management of predator
 populations. Management of the impacts of dingoes (Canis familiaris) on
 livestock and native species is a prime example of a persistent and
 contentious predator management issue with potential impacts on the
 integrity of dingo populations. To manage the potential impacts of dingoes
 and their control, it is imperative to understand the effects of control
 approaches on their populations in the short and long term. Hybridisation
 of dingoes with domestic dogs (C. familiaris) threatens the genetic
 integrity of pure dingoes. It has been hypothesised that lethal control of
 dingoes can facilitate hybridisation by disrupting pack social structures
 leading to increased dingo-domestic dog interactions. Here we use dingo
 genetic samples from three distinct sampling periods: 2009, 2014, and
 2020, within the Murchison Regional Vermin Cell (MRVC) area in Western
 Australia (WA). At the time of the study, the MRVC was a large,
 partially-fenced area in which dingo control has been performed for many
 decades. We assess dingo purity, population clustering, gene flow, and
 individual relatedness in the context of ongoing control. We identified
 three genetically distinct populations in the study area, consistent with
 previous genetic studies of WA, but did not find any evidence of change in
 dingo purity or population characteristics, however barrier fencing may be
 influencing recent gene flow. Policy implications: The metapopulation of
 dingoes in the southern rangelands of WA appears to be stable over the 11
 years assessed here and there is no evidence that lethal control to reduce
 losses to livestock production and for conservation of native wildlife is
 putting dingo purity at risk. Fencing appears to be an effective
 management tool as there is some evidence it is separating dingo
 populations in areas where the fences are well maintained.
description: Specimens were collected in the Murchison region of the southern
 rangelands of Western Australia from three time periods: 2009, 2014, and
 2020. 1,207 dingo tissue specimens were selected for analysis. The 2009
 specimens were selected from the broader sampling of Stephens <em>et
 al</em>. (2015) to cover the area of interest. The 2014 specimens
 were taken from a State Government bounty trial conducted that year, and
 the 2020 specimens were taken from ongoing control work. DNA extraction,
 amplification, and dingo ancestry testing were performed using the method
 described in Stephens <em>et al</em>. (2011), with 23
 microsatellite loci used for dingo ancestry testing in Structure and 34
 loci used for all other analyses. Stephens, D. (2011) The molecular ecology of
 Australian wild dogs: hybridisation, gene flow and genetic structure at
 multiple geographic scales. The University of Western Australia, Ph.D.
 Thesis. Stephens, D., Wilton, A.N., Fleming, P.J.S.
 & Berry, O. (2015) Death by sex in an Australian icon: a
 continent-wide survey reveals extensive hybridization between dingoes and
 domestic dogs. <em>Molecular Ecology</em>, 24, 5643-5656.
 10.1111/mec.13416