The dingo and biodiversity conservation: response to’Fleming et’al. (2012)

Several authors have recently argued that dingoes could be used to help conserve biodiversity in Australia. Fleming et al. (2012) [Australian Mammalogy 34, 119–131] offer the alternative view that restoration of dingo predation is unlikely to help native species, and is more likely to do harm.We think many of the arguments used by Fleming et al. to reach that conclusion are either unsound or beside the point, and we explain why. Additional keywords: Canis lupus, ecological restoration, feral cat, mesopredator release, red fox, trophic cascade. Received 22 January 2012, accepted 27 March 2012, published online 31 August 2012