{"id":269362,"date":"2020-08-03T13:58:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T03:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=269362"},"modified":"2020-08-03T13:58:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T03:58:19","slug":"baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A 1080 bait sign in the South Burnett … researchers have linked the use of baits with the survival of bigger dingoes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 3, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.<\/p>\n

Dingoes have grown about 6-9 per cent bigger over the past 80 years, according to research from the University of NSW and the University of Sydney \u2013 but the growth is only happening in areas where poison baiting is used.<\/p>\n

The findings, published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society at the weekend, compared the sizes of dingoes that lived in three baited regions (Kalgoorlie, Pilbara and pastoral South Australia) with those from an unbaited region that stretched from the Northern Territory to South Australia.<\/p>\n

The scientists measured the skull size \u2013 which is a marker of animal size \u2013 of nearly 600 dingo specimens originating from the sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkulls from the baited regions grew by about four millimetres since poison baiting was introduced,\u201d said Michael Letnic, lead author of the paper and professor in conservation biology and ecosystem restoration at UNSW Science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis equates to roughly a kilogram in body mass.\u201d<\/p>\n

While both male and female dingoes grew, female dingoes had the biggest growth spurt. Their skulls increased by 4.5mm which is almost 9 per cent body mass. Male skulls grew by 3.6mm, or 6 per cent body mass.<\/p>\n

But why are dingoes in poison-baited areas growing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most likely theory is that dingoes who survive baiting campaigns have less competition for food,\u201d co-author Associate Professor Mathew Crowther said.<\/p>\n

He said dingoes\u2019 primary prey, kangaroos, have been shown to increase in numbers when dingo populations were suppressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith more food in abundance, dingoes\u2019 physical growth is less restricted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The pesticide sodium fluoroacetate \u2013 known as 1080 \u2013 is commonly used across Australia to control dingo and other pest populations.<\/p>\n

Researchers said this was not the first time a pesticide has been linked to changes in animal bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur interventions have consequences \u2013 and they’re actually quite predictable consequences,\u201d Prof Letnic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever pressures we put on animal populations \u2013 be it pesticides or not \u2013 there will be side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers said other factors that could have potentially led to the dingoes\u2019 growth, such climate change or interbreeding with dogs, seemed unlikely.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe only tested dingoes in areas that have very low dog hybridisation rates, making it highly unlikely that dog genetics are contributing to the size growth,\u201d Prof Letnic said.<\/p>\n

And \u2013 if anything \u2013 a warming climate would decrease dingoes\u2019 body size, as cooler conditions favour larger animals.<\/p>\n

Scientists usually observe these impacts in invertebrate pests: for example, some insects \u2013 like cockroaches \u2013 are becoming more resistant to the insecticides used on them.<\/p>\n

However, this study is one of the first to show that vertebrates, like dingoes, also change from pesticide use.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoison baiting campaigns could be favouring the survival of larger dingoes,\u201d Assoc Prof Crowther said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmaller dingoes need less poison for a lethal dose, so are more likely to be killed by baiting. This leaves the larger dingoes to survive and breed.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of their growing size, the 1080 dose required to kill a dingo in the baited regions has increased since the toxin was introduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction to this finding may be to add more poison to the baits, or to find a new poison,\u201d Prof Letnic said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, eventually, the cycle will start again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":269383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,36],"tags":[1134],"yoast_head":"\nBaits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200803poisonbaits.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/\",\"name\":\"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\"},\"description\":\"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/\",\"name\":\"southburnett.com.au\",\"description\":\"Kingaroy and South Burnett News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae\",\"name\":\"Anne Miller\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au","description":"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au","og_description":"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.","og_url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/","og_site_name":"southburnett.com.au","article_published_time":"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":740,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/20200803poisonbaits.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anne Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anne Miller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/","name":"Baits Linked To Bigger Dingoes - southburnett.com.au","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-03T03:58:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae"},"description":"Researchers have linked an increase in the average size of dingoes to the use of poison baits.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/08\/03\/baits-linked-to-bigger-dingoes\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/","name":"southburnett.com.au","description":"Kingaroy and South Burnett News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/#\/schema\/person\/d43a5027bdddc95f54e9c6274d8a57ae","name":"Anne Miller","url":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/author\/anne-miller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269362"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269386,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269362\/revisions\/269386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}