A Scoping Review of Dingo and Wild-Living Dog Ecology and Biology in Australia to Inform Parameterisation for Disease Spread Modelling

Abstract

Background: Dingoes and wild-living dogs in Australia, which include feral domestic dogs and dingo-dog hybrids, play a role as reservoirs of disease. In the case of an exotic disease incursion-such as rabies-these reservoirs could be a threat to the health of humans, domestic animals and other wildlife in Australia. Disease spread models are needed to explore this impact and develop mitigation strategies for responding to an incursion. Our study aim was to describe relevant information from the literature, using a scoping review, on specific topics related to dingo and wild-living dog ecology and biology (topics of interest) in Australia to inform parameterisation of disease spread modelling and identify major research gaps. Methods: A broad electronic search was conducted in five bibliographic databases and grey literature. Two levels of screening and two levels of data extraction were each performed independently by two reviewers. Data extracted included topics of interest investigated, type of population sampled, the presence of lethal control, type of environment, years of collection and GPS coordinates of study sites. Results: From 1666 records captured, the screening process yielded 229 individual studies published between 1862 and 2016. The most frequently reported topics of interest in studies were index of abundance (n = 93) and diet (n = 68). Among the three key parameters in disease spread modelling (i.e., density, contacts and home range), data on density and contacts were identified as major research gaps in the literature due to the small number of recent studies on these topics and the scarcity of quantitative estimates. The research reviewed was mostly located around central Australia and the east coast, including a few studies on density, contacts and home range. Data from these regions could potentially be used to inform parameterisation for disease spread modelling of dingoes and wild-living dogs. However, the number of studies is limited in equatorial and tropical climate zones of northern Australia, which is a high-risk area for a rabies incursion. Conclusions: Research in northern regions of Australia, especially to generate data regarding density, contacts and home ranges, should be prioritised for future research on dingoes and wild-living dogs.

Keywords: Australia; dingo; disease modelling; rabies; scoping review; wild dogs.

Figure 1

Flow chart of a scoping review focused on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, targeting 28 specific topics of interest selected to inform disease spread models. *Twelve of these records were captured from the “Verification of search strategy.” ^**Includes 15 progress reports or annual reports from government or research agencies.

Figure 2

Diagram illustrating the links between the number of records, studies, data of interest, site points, and ecoregions, captured in a scoping review on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, targeting 28 specific topics of interest selected to inform disease spread models.

Figure 3

Bubble plot of 229 studies captured from a scoping review on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, targeting 28 specific topics of interest selected to inform disease spread models, in relation to four groupings of data of interest characteristics. Bubble sizes are directly proportional to the number of studies. For each characteristic group, the sum of bubble sizes on each line corresponds to the number of studies reporting data on that particular topic of interest (N). The sum of bubble sizes in each column corresponds to the number of data of interest reported in the literature within that category; N stands for the number of studies reporting at least one data of interest from the corresponding category.

Figure 4

Bubble plot of 229 studies, by year of collection, which were captured from a scoping review on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, targeting 28 specific topics of interest selected to inform disease spread models. Bubble sizes are directly proportional to the number of studies. For each topic of interest, the N stands for the number of studies reporting data of interest on the corresponding topic of interest. The sum of the bubble sizes for each column corresponds to the number of data of interest reported in the literature which was collected during that particular time period whereas the N stands for the number of studies reporting data of interest which was collected during the corresponding time period.

Figure 5

Distribution of the 229 studies captured from a scoping review on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, by year of publication (A) and year of data collection (B) between 1940 and 2016. Prior to 1940, only one study published relevant data in 1862. During the period 1852–1862 and 1883–1930, the number of studies for which data of interest was collected during each year was equal to one. All other years between 1852 and 1940 did not contribute to the collection of data of interest.

Figure 6

Six maps based on 229 studies captured from a scoping review on the ecology and biology of dingoes, feral domestic dogs, and dingo-dog hybrids in Australia, targeting 28 specific topics of interest selected to inform disease spread models. Colour intensity is proportional to the number of studies conducted (B,D–F) or the number of topics of interest reported out of the 28 selected topics of interest (C) within the cell. (A) Distribution of 768 site points in which data of interest on dingoes and wild-living dogs in Australia was collected, in relation to the Köppen climate major classes (WA, Western Australia; NT, Northern Territory; SA, South Australia; QLD, Queensland; NSW, New South Wales; VIC, Victoria). (B) Distribution of studies on dingoes and wild-living dogs in Australia. (C) Distribution of reported topics of interest (D) Distribution of studies investigating the topic of interest density or population size. (E) Distribution of studies investigating the topic of interest home range. (F) Distribution of studies investigating the topic of interest contacts or interactions between dingoes and/or wild-living dogs.