RZS NSW News

Non-lethal dingo management to benefit threatened species conservation, public safety and ecosystem resilience

Large carnivores are vital for regulating ecosystems, but widespread lethal control is often employed where they threaten endangered species or cause conflict with humans, thereby removing or disrupting these benefits across wide areas. Predator removal can allow overabundance of herbivores and the decimation of threatened species by mesocarnivores. In Australia, the dingo faces widespread lethal control to protect humans and their livestock, and native threatened species including nesting turtles and shorebirds. Ultimately, management tools and approaches are needed that preserve the ecological benefits of large carnivores by locally deterring them rather than removing them from entire landscapes. Signal-based approaches – and particularly ultrasonic deterrents – have great potential in these contexts as they have been shown to be aversive to dingoes but are inaudible to birds and humans.

This project will test the efficacy of ultrasonic sounds in two key contexts that currently result in lethal control. Along the east coast of the Myall Lakes region in New South Wales – the proposed study site – genetically pure dingoes are under long-term study by the Myall Lakes Dingo/Dapin Project (MLDP). Due to their presence in the vicinity of threatened shorebird breeding colonies and around popular campgrounds, lethal control of dingoes sometimes occurs. To provide an alternative approach to management, we aim to test ultrasonic deterrents as a tool to reduce (i) nest predation of threatened native Australian sea turtles and shorebirds by dingoes (using mock nests), and (ii) close human-dingo interactions.

Specifically, through targeted field experiments, this project will:

(1) Determine the aversive impact of ultrasonic deterrents on dingoes at mock turtle nests;

(2) Confirm that ultrasonic deterrents have no aversive impacts on shorebirds;

(3) Determine the aversive impact of handheld ultrasonic devices on dingoes habituated to human presence and the effective device range.

Such approaches that allow the retention of large carnivores and their ecosystem benefits in the landscape, while limiting their negative impacts in particular sites or contexts, have the potential to improve conservation management practices and outcomes in and beyond Australia.

Alexander Dibnah, University of New South Wales

Originally from the UK, I am an early-career researcher and first year PhD student in conservation biology and animal behaviour at UNSW Sydney, with experience conducting field research on a variety of animal species in the wild. In 2022-2023, I developed expertise researching large carnivores in unusually demanding fieldwork conditions in the Okavango Delta with Botswana Predator Conservation (BPC). Here, I gained extensive experience tracking and monitoring African wild dogs, lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyena, as well as conducting camera trap surveys, managing the research database, presenting research talks to tourists and assisting project collaborators such as academics from the University of Zurich and University of Washington. Working closely with local researchers and engaging with Tswana community members, I gained valuable first-hand insight into human-carnivore conflict issues threatening both the conservation of Africa’s apex predators and wider ecosystem, and human livelihoods. This opportunity also allowed me to establish a strong working relationship with Dr. Neil Jordan through his affiliation with BPC. Thereafter, I obtained a University International Postgraduate Award (UIPA) to commence a PhD with Dr Jordan in early 2024 on dingo behaviour, communication and conflict management. In 2021, I completed an MSc by Research degree at the University of Exeter in the UK, studying the vocalisation-based collective decision- making of wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula) at their winter roosts. Here, I designed and conducted rigorous field observations (audio recordings) and experimental manipulation (with playback speakers) of hundreds of jackdaws. My results showed that jackdaws use a vocalised ‘voting system’ to coordinate mass group departures from woodland roosts to maintain the benefits of moving in groups. Subsequently, I published these findings in a high-impact, peer-reviewed journal. Between my studies from 2016 to 2022, I have also worked intermittently in the tourist industry as a safari guide in South Africa, which has brought me a unique cross-sector perspective of managing public activities in the vicinity of dangerous wildlife. As my career progresses, I aim to continue honing my expertise researching large carnivores in the wild and conducting experimental manipulations of behaviour to develop more effective non-lethal management practices.