Extermination of dingoes and the consequent loss of small mammals – not just overgrazing by livestock – have led to a rapid spread of woody weed shrubs across semi-arid Australia, a new study shows.
Set largely in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, this film by UNSW PhD candidate Daniel Hunter explores the role of dingoes in forests and demonstrates their removal is having negative repercussions on ecosystems. The full documentary will be launced at UNSW in May.
The dingo has been classified as a distinct Australian animal with the species name Canis dingo following research that sheds new light on its defining physical characteristics.
Poisoning of dingoes – the top predators in the Australian bush – has a deleterious effect on small native mammals such as marsupial mice and bandicoots, a UNSW-led study shows.
Urgent action is needed to protect large carnivores, such as the Australian dingo, from the “unforseen” environmental consequences that will accompany further declines in their numbers, an international team of ecologists has warned.
