Developing a national framework for Dingo trophic regulation research in Australia: outcomes of a national workshop

Abstract

There has been speculation about whether the Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem function through top-down trophic regulation. The lack of focused research prompted the organization of a workshop attended by Dingo researchers and managers from across Australia in October 2005 (Dickman et al. 2006). Workshop attendees recognized the benefits of improving both the strategic direction and integration of research ideas and results. This led to a second workshop: Towards a National Agenda for Dingo Trophic Regulation Research, held on the 26th November, 2007 in Perth, Western Australia. Attendees sought to develop a framework, based on Visser (2007) and outlined here, for Dingo research in Australia to ensure that future experiments address gaps in our knowledge and minimize repetition among studies.