Dingos going to the dogs...

Dingos are facing an increasing danger of extinction, but the usual culprits of over-hunting or habitat destruction are not to blame. The purity of the dingo gene line has steadily become diluted through interbreeding with domestic dogs, and it is thought that only small, isolated pockets of pure dingos remain, and are in need of protection to ensure the preservation of the breed.

Because many dingo crosses have an appearance that is very similar to that of a purebred dingo, identification methods other than physical appearance are required. One basic method utilised is by taking skull measurements, but the most accurate method is through DNA analysis, which is used to detect specific genetic markers that are present in pure dingo lines. This method has the added benefit of being able to assess the degree of hybridisation present in any dogs identified as crossbred dingos, enabling researchers to determine how far removed they are from the purebreds.

Genetic testing has provided researchers with a tool that will assist them in identifying remaining pure dingo populations, the challenge will then be to come up with effective methods for preserving them. It would be a great shame if in the future the only place true dingos exist is in zoos, hopefully the situation will not progress that far.

Posted by: Susanne Fritz

Student No.: 40065023

References:

1. Davidson, S. 2004 "The Great Dingo Dilution", (Internet), last viewed 26 May 2007, available at: http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC118p10.pdf

2. Roach, J. 2004 "Does Extinction loom for Australia's Wild Dingoes?", (Internet), last viewed 27 May 2007, available at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1210_041210_australia_dingoes.html

3. The Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources, (Internet), last viewed 28 May 2007, available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail&place_id=105848

4. UCN Redlist of Threatened Species, (Internet), last viewed 28 May 2007, available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/41585/all

5. Wilton, A. 2006 "Genetic Variation in the Australian Dingo", (Internet), last viewed 27 May 2007, available at: http://www.wolfweb.com.au/acd/genvarindingo.htm (Primary Resource)