Research and Publications

The Myall Lakes Dingo/Dapin project is a scientific research project focused on informing evidence-based management. It aims to further our understanding of dingo social ecology and the impact(s) of dingoes on humans and other species in the ecosystem, and vice versa.

MLDP research projects tend to focus on aspects of dingo ecology or the impacts of dingoes that may be applied to wildlife management. This includes the development and testing of potential coexistence tools and strategies.

As dingo social ecology has arguably been overlooked in the literature to date, another major aim of the MLDP is to deepen our collective understanding of dingo social behaviour and ecology, which we tackle by following the fates and fortunes of individual dingoes in several known packs over the long-term.

Graduate student research projects form the bulk of the research outputs to date, and a list of research publications can be found below.

Student theses:

Hirani, S. (2026). Food for thought and management: Quantifying natural and anthropogenic food items in dingo diets, a comparison of sample sources and analysis approaches. Honours thesis, UNSW Sydney.

Wood, P. (2025). Coexistence is relationships: Rethinking how conservation research studies human-wildlife relation. PhD thesis, UNSW Canberra.

Alting, B. F. (2025). Ecology and interactions of dingoes in a human-modified landscape. PhD thesis, UNSW Sydney.

Gamage, D. (2024). Ultrasonic playbacks deter wild dingoes: implications for threatened species conservation. Honours thesis, UNSW Sydney.

Cheung, J. (2024). Characterising dingo and fox diets using DNA metabarcoding within the Myall Lakes region. Honours thesis, UNSW Sydney.

Research papers and book chapters:

Gamage, D., Pitcher, B.J., Appleby, R.G. & Jordan, N.R. (2026) Ultrasonic playback to deter eutherian carnivores: Implications for threatened species conservation. Wildlife Research 53 (4): WR25150. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR25150

Alting, B. F., Pitcher, B. J., Campbell-Ward, M. L., & Jordan, N. R. (2025). Estimating canid territories and pack compositions: Camera traps provide comparable metrics to an intense radio-collaring programme on dingoes. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 6, e70129. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70129

Henderson EK, Pitcher BJ, Jordan NR. (2025) Informing apex predator management: population viability analysis of dingoes under different management scenarios. Wildlife Research 52, WR25041. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR25041

Alting, B.F., Pitcher, B.J. & Jordan, N.R. (2025) Dingo visitation patterns and behaviour at long-term scent-marking sites suggests a role in mate competition. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 79, 92 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-025-03633-0

Alting BF, Pitcher BJ, Campbell-Ward, M. & Jordan NR. (2025). Dingo movement depends on sex, social status and litter size. R Soc Open Sci. 1 July 2025; 12 (7): 250255. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250255

Bruce, T., Amir, Z., Allen, B. L., Alting, B. F., Amos, M., Augusteyn, J., ... Jordan, N. R, ..., Pitcher, B.J., … & Streeting, L. M. (2025). Large‐scale and long‐term wildlife research and monitoring using camera traps: a continental synthesis. Biological Reviews 100: 530–555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/brv.13152

Mifsud, J.C., Harvey, E., Van Brussel, K., Olsson, A., Pitcher, B.J., Hall, J., Fenton, H., Alting, B.F., Sadiq, S. and Holmes, E.C., (2025). Diverse viral pathogens in Australian canines: limited geographic structure and the first detection of an RNA virus in dingoes. Virus Evolution, 11(1), p.veaf042. https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veaf042

Alting, B. F., Pitcher, B. J., Rees, M. W., Ferrer‐Paris, J. R., & Jordan, N. R. (2024). Population density and ranging behaviour of a generalist carnivore varies with human population. Ecology and Evolution, 14(5), e11404. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11404

Walker, B. J., Letnic, M., Bucknall, M. P., Watson, L., & Jordan, N. R. (2024). Male dingo urinary scents code for age class and wild dingoes respond to this information. Chemical Senses, 49, bjae004. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjae004

Jordan, N. R., Campbell-Ward, M., Vandersteen, J., Colman, N., Alting, B., Gamage, D., ... & Pitcher, B. J. (2023).Inferring interspecific killing of Red Fox by Dingo from wounds and inter-canine distance measures–and a call for more data. Australian Zoologist, 43(2), 276-280. https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2023.030

Tucker, M. A., Schipper, A. M., Adams, T. S., Attias, N., Avgar, T., Babic, N. L., ... & Stacy-Dawes, J. (2023). Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns. Science, 380(6649), 1059-1064. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo6499

Gorta, S. B., Alting, B., Claridge, A., & Henderson, T. (2021). Apparent piebald variants in quolls (Dasyurus): examples of three recent cases in the spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus. Australian Mammalogy, 43(3), 373-377. https://www.publish.csiro.au/am/AM20058

Smith, B. P., Appleby, R. G., & Jordan, N. R. (2021). Co-existing with dingoes: Challenges and solutions to implementing non-lethal management. Australian Zoologist, 41(3), 491-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2020.024

Other reports and outputs:

Jordan NR, Pitcher BJ, Campbell-Ward M, Dibnah A, Jeffery AU, Alting B, Henderson E, Christensen H (2026). MLDP/CES Submission to the NSW Legislative Council Animal Welfare Committee Inquiry into dingoes in NSW National Parks. https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2026/08/Submission-NSW-Legislative-Council-Animal-Welfare-Committee-Inquiry-into-dingoes-NSWNP