Additional description of the study sites is available in Allen et al. Bushland fragments are characterised by open woodlands with a grassland understory, commonly referred to as tropical savannah. Townsville is located in north Queensland, and has a dry tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of 1200 mm, with mean daily temperature maximums of 30 ☌ and minimums of 21 ☌. The former three are located in southeast Queensland, which has an average annual rainfall of 900 mm and mean daily maximum temperature of 27 ☌ and minimum of 18 ☌ ( The area is sub-tropical, with bushland fragments characterised by eucalypt woodlands or rainforest with a dense understory of shrubs, notably the invasive Lantana camara. ![]() The study was undertaken in urban areas of coastal Queensland in north-eastern Australia, in the state of Queensland, and in the municipal areas of City of Gold Coast (centred at: −27.77, 153.24), Moreton Bay Regional Council (centred at: −27.24, 153.03), Sunshine Coast Regional Council (centred at: −26.59, 152.98) and Townsville Regional Council (centred at: −19.26, 146.80) ( Figures S1–S4). Thus, data from more wild dogs over a greater period of time is needed to better understand wild dog movements in urban areas. Such temporally restricted data can yield inferences that do not adequately describe actual wildlife behaviour observed over longer timeframes. However, that study was limited to just nine predominantly juvenile individuals monitored between 5 and 43 days at one study site. (2013) reported that urban wild dogs have much smaller home ranges (0.37–100.32 km 2) but travel similar daily distances (9.83–22.12 km/day) to rural wild dogs. Mean distances travelled each day by rural wild dogs has been recorded as just under 13 km/day or 9–31 km/day. Wild dogs in rural areas have been found to have large home range sizes that can exceed 900 km 2, but are usually 25–80 km 2 ( Table 1). Whilst many studies have assessed wild dog home ranges and activity patterns in rural and remote areas ( Table 1), very few studies have investigated these in urban areas (e.g., ). Key to investigating wild dog impacts and managing their populations is knowledge of their space use and movement patterns. One of the primary impacts wild dogs pose in urban areas is the risk to human health and safety and associated psychological stress, anxiety or fear of attack. Positive impacts may include non-consumptive effects as well as predation on other pest species, such as foxes and feral cats. Negative impacts of urban wild dogs include predation on threatened fauna and zoonotic disease transmission, as well as economic interests such as predation on livestock and companion animals and the loss of amenity or fouling of recreational areas. Our study animals are specifically not what most people in Australia would consider feral or stray dogs. Regardless of their debated taxonomic name, the study animals we refer to here are what most people would consider to be ‘dingoes’, irrespective of their genotype or phylogeny (see also ). Suggested taxonomic nomenclature for Australian wild dogs includes Canis lupus dingo, Canis lupus familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis dingo and Canis familiaris, which are each in common and current usage. Across Australia, feral cats are common in urban areas, as are dingoes or dingo × domestic dog hybrids, collectively referred to as ‘wild dogs’. However, in many cities, non-native feral cats Felis catus and feral or stray dogs Canis familiaris are by far the most common predators. Native species include red foxes Vulpes vulpes in Europe and coyotes Canis latrans or bobcats Lynx rufus in North America (e.g., ). A greater understanding of urban predator ecology is important for mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and identifying predator traits or resource requirements that may facilitate improved predator management.Ĭanids and felids are common mammalian predators in urban ecosystems around the world. ![]() Urbanisation is spreading across many areas and increasing human–wildlife conflicts are often reported (e.g., ). However, the altered availability of resources and risk factors (i.e., danger from humans) can also alter the roles and functions of predators in these ecosystems current knowledge about predator ecology and management in rural or wilderness areas does not always apply to urban contexts. ![]() Predators are influential components of all natural ecosystems, including highly modified ecosystems characteristic of urban areas.
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