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Ravishankar, Shyamsundar, Nguyen, Nhi Chau, Taufik, Leonard, Michielsen, Nathan M., Bergström, Anders 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4096-9268, Tobler, Raymond, Fordham, Damien, Brüniche‐Olsen, Anna, Rahbek, Carsten, Llamas, Bastien and Souilmi, Yassine
(2026)
Paleogenomics‐Informed Inferences of European Dog Admixture Enables Scalable Dingo Conservation.
Conservation Letters, 19 (3).
ISSN 1755-263X
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Abstract
Dingoes, mainland Australia's sole terrestrial apex mammal for over 3000 years, are important components of many ecosystems and Indigenous cultural heritage. Yet, conflicts with farmers over livestock predation following European colonization led to widespread lethal control. These measures are further reinforced by perceptions of hybrid ancestry with European dogs. Accurate estimation of European dog ancestry is, therefore, essential for effective conservation, but existing tests yield highly conflicting results. Leveraging precolonial dingo paleogenomes and a robust ancestry modeling framework, we reassess the genetic ancestry of contemporary populations. Our approach corrects limitations and biases in existing methods, producing consistent estimates even with as few as 10,000 genome‐wide transversion genetic markers. Accounting for admixture uncovers population structure that has persisted for over two millennia and reveals patterns of genetic admixture coinciding with human activity during the colonial era. This study underscores the value of paleogenomes as a vital conservation tool, offering insights unattainable from modern DNA alone. By clarifying ancestry and population structure, our study offers a robust foundation for effective regionally informed dingo management across Australia.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Data Availability Statement: Plink callsets used in this study can be found on Figshare. DOI: 10.25909/ 29388638 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | admixture,ancient dna,conservation,dingo,genomics,heritage,paleogenomics |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2026 14:07 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jun 2026 21:01 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103421 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/con4.70052 |
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