A collaborative study of the ancient history of dingoes in Australia has found the genetic diversity observed in today's dingo populations was in place long before European colonisation and the introduction of domestic dogs.
"Given the sea crossings involved in travelling between New Guinea and Australia, it is likely that the dingoes arrived as companions with people."
Emerita Professor Jane Balme, UWA
Researchers generated a first-of-its-kind collection of 42 ancient dingo specimens, dating from 400 to 2,746 years ago, and compared the data with DNA from modern dingoes, as well as ancient and modern dogs worldwide.
Co-author, Emerita Professor Jane Balme from The University of Western Australia's School of Social Sciences, said one key revelation was that there were more common genetic markers between New Guinea singing dogs — a rare and ancient breed of wild dogs found in the highlands of New Guinea — and ancient dingoes from coastal New South Wales, compared to those from South Australia.
"This genetic connection indicates a shared ancestry and supports the hypothesis of at least two waves of migration from source populations with varying affinities to New Guinea singing dogs," Professor Balme said.
"Given the sea crossings involved in travelling between New Guinea and Australia, it is likely that the dingoes arrived as companions with people.
"An exciting find is that at least one of these waves was about 2,500 years ago — over 1000 years after dingoes first arrived in Australia — which confirms other evidence from north-east Australia for regional human movements at this time."
Lead author Dr Yassine Souilmi, from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA and Environment Institute, said the study contributed to a growing body of evidence that there had been less interbreeding between dingoes and modern dogs than previously thought.
"It appears dingoes had distinct regional populations, split roughly along the Great Dividing Range, long before the European invasion of Australia, and certainly predating the dingo-proof fence," Dr Souilmi said.
"Our findings highlight the ancient and resilient lineage of this animal, showing that modern dingoes primarily descend from ancient wild dogs that were brought to the Sahul region — an ancient landmass that included Australia and New Guinea — thousands of years ago."
Dr Souilmi said the outcomes of the study, published in PNAS, not only shed light on the genetic heritage of dingoes but also highlighted the importance of ancient DNA in wildlife conservation.
"Dingoes are culturally important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and play a key role in Australia's ecosystem, and understanding their history helps preserve their ecological and cultural roles," he said.
"It also highlights the need to protect dingo populations, especially in national parks, from lethal culling."
