Introgressive hybridisation between wild and domestic animals is a widespread phenomenon with important implications for genetic diversity, local adaptation, and conservation management. The causes and consequences of this process are poorly understood. In Australia, hybridisation between dingoes and domestic dogs presents a dual conservation challenge, threatening the genetic integrity of dingoes while allowing potential adaptive introgression. To investigate the environmental drivers of this process, we analysed high-density SNP array data in 390 dingoes and 396 domestic dogs. Dingo populations showed regional genetic structure and were clearly differentiated from domestic dogs. Using local ancestry inference and genome-environment association analyses, we found low levels of dog introgression in dingoes from remote areas in Central and Western Australia, and moderate levels in Eastern and Southern populations. Climatic variables (maximum temperature of the warmest month, mean temperature of the driest quarter) and the Human Footprint Index (reflecting density of human populations and environmental modifications) were significant predictors of introgression. We identified four genomic regions with overrepresented dog ancestry, including a large introgressed block on chromosome 27, which contained an olfactory receptor gene showing signatures of positive selection, suggesting adaptive introgression. In addition, a chromosomal inversion previously described in dogs and absent in dingoes was initially identified as an introgressed block. We also detected eight genomic regions nearly free of dog ancestry, suggesting purifying selection against maladaptive variants. Together, these results highlight the complex interplay between introgression, human influence, and local adaptation in dingoes, offering valuable insights for conserving the evolutionary potential of this apex predator in increasingly modified landscapes.

Abstract Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are one of the most widely distributed carnivores globally and are well known to scavenge in their native range. Less is known about the factors influencing Red Fox scavenging in areas where they have been introduced, which limits our ability to make predictions about the role of carrion in supporting their populations. Here, we explore scavenging data from 119 kangaroo carcasses monitored across 3 separate bioregions in Australia (alpine, temperate, and arid) where red foxes have become well-established since their introduction. Carcasses were monitored for 30 d in different seasons (warm and cool) and habitats (open and closed canopy) in each bioregion using camera traps. We characterized Red Fox scavenging activity (i.e., time to first detection, duration of time spent scavenging, and patterns in scavenging activity within the diel cycle) under different environmental scenarios, including in relation to the presence of the Dingo (Canis dingo), a larger competitor. Red foxes visited 65 (55%) of the monitored carcasses, resulting in 781 independent visitation events. Most visitation events occurred in the cool season (81%), and the arid bioregion (62%). Red foxes spent 1.81-fold more time scavenging in the arid bioregion than the alpine bioregion, with no difference in time spent scavenging between the alpine and temperate bioregions. Red foxes were also detected at carcasses 2.28-times faster in the arid compared to the alpine bioregion, with times to Red Fox detection similar at carcasses in the alpine and temperate bioregions. In contrast, time to detection at carcasses by dingoes were 0.41-times slower in the arid than the alpine bioregion, but 4.87-times faster in the temperate than the alpine bioregion. Red foxes also exhibited differences in their daily peak activity at carcasses across habitats in the temperate and arid bioregions and also in response to the presence of dingoes, with daily peaks in Red Fox scavenging activity before and after daily peak Dingo activity in the arid and temperate bioregions, but to a lesser extent in the alpine bioregion. These results suggest that red foxes make extensive use of carcasses in Australia, especially in cool seasons and in less productive arid bioregions. The results also suggest that red foxes avoid dingoes, indicated by differences in temporal patterns of carcass resource use. These results are useful for determining when and where carcasses may be supporting invasive Red Fox populations in Australia, and more broadly, enhance our understanding of how red foxes may opportunistically exploit carrion worldwide.

The European colonial expansion had dramatic consequences on both Indigenous Peoples and local fauna. In Australia, the degree to which the arrival of Europeans and their dogs impacted the ecology and ancestry of dingoes is contentious. To test for gene flow with European dogs, we sequenced genomes of 18 ancient Australian dingoes from the Nullarbor Plain, two early 20th-century New Guinean dingoes, a mid-19th-century kangaroo hound, and 33 contemporary dingoes from across Australia. To quantify dietary shifts after the arrival of the First Fleet (AD1788), we generated stable isotopic (δ13C, δ15N) data for 55 directly dated ancient Australian dingoes spanning the last ~2,300 y. We show that the diet of Nullarbor Plain dingoes shifted soon after European arrival, possibly due to shifts in prey abundance. Our genomic analyses demonstrated that pre-European dingoes were more inbred than most contemporary dog breeds, possibly as a result of population bottlenecks. We also showed that many dingoes, particularly those from Southeast Australia, experienced admixture with European dogs. Although we detected European ancestry dating to the early 18th-century, the majority of gene flow events coincided with the initiation of landscape-scale population control in the 1960s. Furthermore, some European dog alleles may have provided adaptive benefits to dingoes and alleviated inbreeding depression. Despite the existence of gene flow with European dogs, dingoes have maintained their distinctiveness. This suggests that management strategies should prioritize maintenance of substantial population sizes across Australia to both facilitate effective purifying and positive selection on introgressed alleles, and mitigate inbreeding.

Context Along with other large carnivores, dingoes (variously Canis dingo, C. lupus dingo, and C. familiaris) can come into conflict with humans, especially when they are habituated to people and associate them with food. Management actions can range from no response, through removal of target individuals, to indiscriminate culls. Aims To model a known dingo population where lethal management occurs and to predict how different approaches to lethal management might impact the population over the next 20 years. Methods We used a software package to model a baseline scenario with no lethal management, and then several current, past or plausible lethal management scenarios for the population, including removing different age-sex classes at various levels and frequencies. Key results Modelled lethal management decreased the probability of population survival in all scenarios tested, particularly when individuals above the age of 2 years were targeted, and when lethal control was modelled to increase in frequency. Models indicated that targeted lethal management of subadult (age 1–2) males resulted in the highest probability of population persistence, which contrasted most markedly with pack removal through indiscriminate culls. Conclusions Modelling identified that targeting problem individuals for lethal control was more sustainable for the population than indiscriminate culls. Research indicates that ‘problem’ animals are often subadult males. Modelling the removal of subadult (age 1–2) males affects the population less than removal of other age-sex classes. This implies that targeted lethal management poses less risk to population persistence than indiscriminate culls, since culling is more likely to remove older animals and females. Modelled increases in the number of animals controlled and the frequency of that control decreases the population’s likelihood of persistence. Implications Lethal management strategies may have serious impacts on the persistence of carnivore populations, particularly when strategies involve broadscale indiscriminate culls. Adoption of best-practice targeted individual management requires investment in monitoring and identification. While the uptake of individual-focused management is not feasible in many scenarios, more widespread uptake would improve wildlife management outcomes.

ABSTRACTCarrion is a nutrient‐rich but spatiotemporally unpredictable resource that supports diverse trophic interactions, and its consumption plays a key role in energy recycling within ecosystems. Although previous research has almost exclusively examined scavenger activity at carcasses, the broader impacts of fluctuating carrion availability on landscape‐scale activity patterns and scavenger competitive interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigate whether carrion provisioning influences broader road use activity in two competing facultative scavenger species: dingoes (Canis dingo), an apex scavenger, and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), a mesoscavenger. Using camera traps, we monitored the activity of the two focal species on roads before and after the placement of 20 experimentally deployed eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) carcasses in the surrounding landscape. Carcasses—also monitored using camera traps—were positioned at least 1 km apart at similar distances from roads across open forest and grassland habitats, in summer and winter in southeast Australia. Both dingoes and red foxes exhibited increased road use following carcass deployment, with red fox responses varying seasonally—showing a greater increase in road use during winter months. Overlap in activity times between the focal species on roads also increased post‐carcass deployment—especially during the winter month; however, peak activity times remained slightly offset. The focal species temporal overlap at carcasses was also greater in the winter season. Our study provides novel insights into the ecological significance of carrion beyond local carcass sites, highlighting its potential role in influencing broader scavenger activity patterns. We also reveal that peak road use may serve as a reliable proxy for peak scavenging times in systems where carcasses are available near roads, given the overlap in diel activity patterns of both dingoes and red foxes on roads and at carcasses. These findings emphasize the need for further research to examine how carrion availability shapes scavenger dynamics at landscape scales.

Abstract Understanding how carnivores impact ecological communities is essential for guiding effective management actions and conserving biodiversity. Quantifying predators' diets, including prey selectivity, allows for the assessment of the relative effects native and invasive predators may have on prey populations. In Australia, populations of a native, terrestrial apex predator, the dingo Canis dingo/C. familiaris, and introduced and invasive subordinate mesopredators, the European red fox Vulpes vulpes and feral cat Felis catus, co‐occur, but there is limited understanding of their relative impacts on native and invasive prey in different ecosystems. To assess the possible effects of dingoes, foxes and cats on prey, we examined their diet and prey selectivity across a ~10,000 km2 semi‐arid mallee ecosystem. Using macroscopic scat analysis, we identified strong dietary niche separation. Larger‐bodied dingoes primarily consumed large marsupial herbivores, whereas foxes and cats primarily consumed smaller prey, including introduced and native rodents and birds. Foxes had the broadest diet, and the greatest dietary overlap with cats ( = 0.81), compared with dingoes ( = 0.50) or between dingoes and cats ( = 0.36). Livestock were identified in 2% of dingo and 7% of fox scats. Cats and foxes consumed more than 15 times the volume of small native mammals compared with dingoes, including threatened species such as fat‐tailed dunnarts Sminthopsis crassicaudata. Cats and foxes also selectively consumed small mammals relative to their estimated availability and consumed fewer large mammals. In contrast, dingoes consumed fewer birds and more echidnas relative to their availability. Our results suggest limited intraguild competition within this semi‐arid ecosystem, as dingoes are primarily exerting top‐down pressure on large herbivores, whereas invasive mesopredators are disproportionately impacting smaller prey, including threatened native mammals. Practical implication. Our findings suggest that ongoing conservation management of dingoes, red foxes and feral cats must consider the variation in diets, impacts on prey and ecological roles of these different predator species, and avoid indiscriminate lethal control methods. Quantifying actual, rather than assumed, impacts of predators on threatened native species, large herbivores and livestock is essential to achieve effective and integrated ecosystem management.

In 2019 the Western Australian government recategorised the dingo ( Canis dingo) as a wild dog ( Canis familiaris) whose status is legally declared to be a pest. Despite its iconic native status, Canis dingo has been rendered non-existent and liable to be disposed of by inhumane means. Dumped in a legal black hole via a signifying regime of signs, dingoes are confronted with the fact of their own non-existence. Regarding the dingo as a dingoing, a multiplicity and a process, rather than a characteristic, I read the reclassification event symptomatologically and interrogate the constellations of symptoms and regimes of signs which legitimate the event and its performativity. I examine order-words including ‘pest’ and ‘wild dog’ to shift the focus from the words’ meaning to what they do. I subsequently enquire whether ‘dingo’ might become a pass-word, a component of passage, such that dingoes might exist under reprieve in a post-signifying regime. I argue that post-signifying regimes are codified, however, as subjects are individuated along lines of subjectification. I conclude by contemplating whether it is possible to break with subjectification, liberating these demonic nonhuman animals from the signifiers which territorialise them and permitting dingoes to become-animal.

Context The Endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the rarest birds in Australia, with fewer than 20 known to occur in Queensland and, prior to 2020, only occasional detections from a handful of sites in Western Australia (WA). Here, we provide an introduction to night parrots on the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in WA from the perspectives of both Indigenous rangers and scientists working together to understand their ecology. Aims We aimed to identify night parrot sites on the Ngururrpa IPA, compare habitat and likely threats with those in Queensland and identify appropriate management practices. Methods Between 2020 and 2023, we used songmeters (a type of acoustic recorder) to survey for the presence of night parrots at 31 sites (>2 km apart). At sites where parrots were detected, we used camera-traps to survey predators and collected predator scats for dietary analysis. Forty years of Landsat images were examined to assess the threat of fire to roosting habitat. Key results Night parrots were detected at 17 of the 31 sites surveyed on the Ngururrpa IPA. Positive detections were within an area that spanned 160 km from north to south and 90 km from east to west. Ten roosting areas were identified, and these occurred in habitat supporting the same species of spinifex (lanu lanu or bull spinifex, Triodia longiceps) used for roosting in Queensland. However, the surrounding landscapes differ in their vegetation types and inherent flammability, indicating that fire is likely to be a more significant threat to night parrots in the Great Sandy Desert than in Queensland. Dingoes (Canis dingo) were the predator species detected most frequently in night parrot roosting habitat and the feral cat was found to be a staple prey for dingoes at night parrot sites. Conclusions Our surveys indicated that there could be at least 50 night parrots on the Ngururrpa IPA, which is the largest known population in the world. Fire is a key threat to roosting habitat, occurring in the surrounding sandplain country every 6–10 years. Dingoes are common in night parrot habitat and regularly eat feral cats, which are only occasionally detected in roosting habitat. Implications We recommend management that focuses on strategic burning to reduce fuel loads in the surrounding landscape, and limiting predator control to methods that do not harm dingoes.

The dingo is a wild dog endemic to Australia with enigmatic origins. Dingoes are one of two remaining unadmixed populations of an early East Asian dog lineage, the other being wild dogs from the New Guinea highlands, but morphological connections between these canid groups have long proved elusive. Here, we investigate this issue through a morphometric study of ancient dingo remains found at Lake Mungo and Lake Milkengay, in western New South Wales. Direct accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from an ancient Lake Mungo dingo demonstrate that dingoes with a considerably smaller build than the predominant modern morphotype were present in semi-arid southeastern Australia c.3000–3300 calBP. 3D geometric morphometric analysis of a near-complete Mungo cranium finds closest links to East Asian and New Guinean dogs, providing the first morphological evidence of links between early dingoes and their northern relatives. This ancient type is no longer extant within the range of modern dingo variability, but populations from nearby southeastern Australia show a closer resemblance than those to the north and west. Our results reaffirm prior characterisations of regional variability in dingo phenotype as not exclusively derived from recent domestic dog hybridisation but as having an earlier precedent, and suggest further that the dingo’s phenotype has changed over time.

Hybridisation between Australian dingoes and domestic dogs is a controversial area of interest and research. An ongoing canine sterilisation programme in rural and remote Western Australia provided an opportunity to assess the dingo ancestry of camp dogs and opportunities for hybridisation. Blood samples were collected from 345 individual community dogs at 21 locations. Dogs were screened using 23 microsatellite loci and ancestry percentage assigned using an iterative Bayesian assignment algorithm. A single individual was a dingo, 96% were domestic dogs and 3.5% were hybrids. Camp dog and dingo hybridisation in these areas is of little concern in terms of conserving dingo purity.

Scavenging on carrion is critical and often fiercely competitive for a range of vertebrate species, from native apex predators to invasive species and even reptiles. Within Australia, a notable reptilian scavenger is the lace monitor (Varanus varius). In this study, we quantified lace monitor activity at carcasses and compared their use of the resource to common co-occurring predators that also scavenge; the invasive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and a native apex predator, the dingo (Canis dingo). To do so, we deployed 80 macropod carcasses equally across seasons (summer and winter) and habitats (open and closed canopy) in a temperate bioregion and monitored vertebrate scavenging with camera traps. Lace monitor activity (visitation at carcass sites inclusive of both non-scavenging and scavenging events) was 1.67 times higher in summer than in winter, but it did not differ across closed and open habitats. Monitor activity occurred earlier after carcass deployment at sites deployed in summer than winter (1.47-fold earlier), and at carcasses in open than closed habitats (0.22-fold earlier). Lace monitors initially discovered carcass sites faster in summer than winter and before both red foxes and dingoes in summer. The species was active diurnally in both summer and winter, differing from the red fox, which was strictly a nocturnal scavenger and the dingo, which was significantly more active at night across both seasons. Finally, we found that lace monitor activity at carcass sites decreased slightly with higher rates of activity for dingoes (0.04-fold decrease as dingo activity increased), but not with red fox activity. Our results have implications for understanding lace monitor foraging and scavenging and highlight the value of monitoring carcasses to provide important insights into the behaviour of varanid lizards that scavenge.

The evolutionary lineage and taxonomy of the Australian dingo is controversial, however recent genomic and gut metagenomic research has suggested that dingoes are evolutionarily distinct from modern dogs. Staphylococcus species are known commensal organisms of dogs and other mammals. In this study we took the opportunity to determine the carriage rate and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Staphylococcus species from 15 captive Australian dingoes. S. pseudintermedius was the only coagulase-positive species recovered, isolated from 6/15 (40%) and 9/13 (69%) of the animals during the 2020 (winter) and 2021 (summer) sampling times, respectively. Twenty-three coagulase-negative isolates were characterised, with S. equorum being the most frequently (20/23, 87%) recovered species. Two isolates of S. equorum had their genomes sequenced to learn more about this species. Antimicrobial resistance amongst both coagulase-positive and -negative isolates was low; with resistance to only 3 of 12 antimicrobials observed: penicillin, erythromycin, and trimethoprim. We have shown that the Australian dingo is a host organism for S. pseudintermedius much like it is in dogs, however the carriage rate was lower than has previously been reported from dogs in Australia.

Admixture between species is a cause for concern in wildlife management. Canids are particularly vulnerable to interspecific hybridisation, and genetic admixture has shaped their evolutionary history. Microsatellite DNA testing, relying on a small number of genetic markers and geographically restricted reference populations, has identified extensive domestic dog admixture in Australian dingoes and driven conservation management policy. But there exists a concern that geographic variation in dingo genotypes could confound ancestry analyses that use a small number of genetic markers. Here, we apply genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping to a set of 402 wild and captive dingoes collected from across Australia and then carry out comparisons to domestic dogs. We then perform ancestry modelling and biogeographic analyses to characterise population structure in dingoes and investigate the extent of admixture between dingoes and dogs in different regions of the continent. We show that there are at least five distinct dingo populations across Australia. We observed limited evidence of dog admixture in wild dingoes. Our work challenges previous reports regarding the occurrence and extent of dog admixture in dingoes, as our ancestry analyses show that previous assessments severely overestimate the degree of domestic dog admixture in dingo populations, particularly in south-eastern Australia. These findings strongly support the use of genome-wide SNP genotyping as a refined method for wildlife managers and policymakers to assess and inform dingo management policy and legislation moving forwards.

Abstract Vigilance is an important anti‐predator behaviour that can be an indicator of the predation risk faced by potential prey animals. Here, we assess the collective vigilance, or the vigilance level of an entire group, of corvids (Family: Corvidae) at experimentally placed carcasses in a desert environment in Australia. Specifically, we explore the relationship between collective vigilance levels and the habitat in which the carcass was placed, the time since a potential predator (dingo Canis dingo, wedge‐tailed eagle Aquila audax or red fox Vulpes vulpes) was present at a carcass, and the group size of corvids around the carcass. We found that corvids are more vigilant in open habitat, but that group size and the recent presence of a potential predator does not affect the collective vigilance behaviour of corvids. The results demonstrate the important link between habitat and vigilance, and that animals may adopt anti‐predator behaviours irrespective of the size of the group in which they occur or the recent presence of a potential predator.

In this study, samples from 429 dog individuals across three main regions of Vietnam (Southern Vietnam (SVN), Central Vietnam (CVN), and Northern Vietnam (NVN)) were collected to analyze the 582 bp region mtDNA HVI, so as to study the genetic diversity and to screen the rare haplotype E in the Vietnamese village dog population. Nine new haplotypes A, two new haplotypes B, and three haplotypes C were unique to Vietnam dogs, in which the new haplotypes An3, An7, Cn1, and Cn3 concerned mutations at new polymorphism sites (15,517, 15,505, 15,479, and 15,933, respectively) which have not been previously reported. The detection of haplotypes A9 and A29, and the appearance of haplotype A200 in the two individual dogs sampled support that the Southeast Asian dog is the ancestor of today's Australian dingo and Polynesian dog. The two rare haplotypes E (E1 and E4) were reconfirmed in Vietnamese dogs and discussed. This study also contributes to strengthening the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River and the Southeast Asian origin of the dingo.

IntroductionAgriculture and biodiversity conservation are both vitally important human activities that overlap geographically and are often in conflict. Animal agriculture has been implicated in species loss and the degradation of ecosystems due to land clearing, overgrazing, and conflicts with large carnivores such as dingoes (Canis dingo). This paper explores the potential for transformation in Australian commercial livestock production from human-dingo conflict towards social-ecological coexistence.MethodA qualitative model that depicts transformative change was developed from field observations and twenty-one in-depth interviews with livestock producers, conservation researchers, grazing industry representatives and policy makers across Australia. The model articulates the current state of dingo management and the drivers of system change.ResultsSeven pathways are described to catalyse transformation from routine lethal management of dingoes towards a future vision that embeds mutually beneficial coexistence. Central to transformation is the adoption by livestock producers of preventive non-lethal innovations supported by a new farming movement, Predator Smart Farming, that balances livestock grazing and wildlife conservation values to unlock the resilience of landscapes, animals (domesticated and wild) and livelihoods. Other key pathways include targeted research, capacity building, outreach and knowledge sharing networks; institutional (policy, legislation, and economic incentives) and cultural change; public awareness raising and advocacy to reduce lethal control; and greater involvement of Indigenous Australians in decisions relating to wildlife management.DiscussionThe seven transition pathways are discussed in relation to how they can collectively foster coexistence with dingoes in extensive rangelands grazing systems. International examples of interventions are used to illustrate the types of successful actions associated with each pathway that could inform action in Australia. The findings have implications for coexistence with large carnivores in rangeland ecosystems globally.

Abstract Expert elicitation can be valuable for informing decision‐makers on conservation and wildlife management issues. To date, studies eliciting expert opinions have primarily focused on identifying and building consensus on key issues. Nonetheless, there are drawbacks of a strict focus on consensus, and it is important to understand and emphasize dissent, too. This study adopts a dissensus‐based Delphi to understand conflict among dingo experts. Twenty‐eight experts participated in three rounds of investigation. We highlight disagreement on most of the issues explored. In particular, we find that disagreement is underpinned by what we call “conflict over values” and “conflict over evidence.” We also note the broader role played by distrust in influencing such conflicts. Understanding and recognizing the different elements shaping disagreement is critical for informing and improving decision‐making and can also enable critique of dominant paradigms in current practices. We encourage greater reflexivity and open deliberation on these aspects and hope our study will inform similar investigations in other contexts.

Context Carrion is a high-energy and nutrient-rich resource that attracts a diverse group of vertebrate scavengers. However, despite the carrion pool being highly seasonal in its availability, there is little understanding of how scavengers utilise carcasses across all four seasons. Aim To assess how season influences carcass-detection times by vertebrate scavengers and their rates of scavenging. Methods We used remote cameras to monitor vertebrate scavenging at 15 eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) carcasses in four consecutive seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring; total 58 carcasses) in the Australian Alps. Key results In total, 745 599 remote-camera images were captured, within which 34 vertebrate species were identified, nine of which were recorded to actively scavenge. Time to first detection of carcasses by vertebrate scavengers was 5.3 and 9.6 times longer during summer (average 144 h) than during spring (average 34 h) and winter (average 24 h) respectively. Rates of vertebrate scavenging were highest in winter and spring, with brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) accounting for 78% of all scavenging events during winter, and ravens (Corvus spp.) accounting for 73% during spring. High rates of carcass use by these mesoscavengers may reflect a scarcity of other food sources, the demands of their breeding season, or a relative absence of scavenging by larger dominant species such as dingoes (Canis dingo) and wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax). Conclusions These findings demonstrate the highly seasonal nature of vertebrate scavenging dynamics in an alpine ecosystem, and that mesoscavengers, not apex scavengers, can dominate the use of carcasses. Implications Accounting for the effects of season is integral to understanding the way animals utilise carcasses in alpine and other strongly seasonal environments; and for developing further our knowledge of ecosystem processes linked to decomposition.

With the development of industry, population growth, and suburbanization, load demand is constantly increasing from year to year. Overload demand has greatly strained the distribution network (DN), resulting in increased power losses due to the high-power flow. Therefore, it becomes very important to minimize power losses at the DN to maximize the efficiency of the distribution companies. Network reconfiguration is one of the effective methods distribution companies use to minimize losses in the DN. This paper proposes Dingo Optimization Algorithm (DOA) to solve network reconfiguration problems and minimize the DN's power loss. DOA mimics the social behavior of the Australian dingo dog. IEEE-33 bus DN has been used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The obtained simulation results compared with other methods in the literature and comparison showed that the proposed DOA provides better quality solutions than other methods.

The Australian dingo is a recent anthropogenic addition to the Australian fauna, which spread rapidly across the continent and has since widely interbred with modern dogs. Genetic studies of dingoes have given rise to speculation about their entry to the continent and subsequent biogeographic effects, but few studies of their contemporary population structure have been conducted. Here we investigated the dingo ancestry and population structure of free-living dogs in western Victoria and contrasted it with a wider southern Australian sample. We wished to determine whether their geographic isolation was mirrored in genetic isolation. To address this question, we analysed 34 microsatellite markers using Bayesian clustering and discriminant analysis of principal components, and summarised genetic diversity at the population and individual level. The broader southern Australia sample (n = 1138) comprised mostly hybrid animals, with 30% considered pure dingoes. All western Victorian individuals (n = 59) appeared to be hybrids with high dingo ancestry. The population showed no evidence of admixture with other populations and low genetic diversity on all measures tested. Based upon our characterisation of this unusual mainland population, we advise against assuming homogeneity of dingoes across the continent.