How long is a dingo's tale?: Impacts of sampling design on our understanding of dingo ecology

The temporal scale of many studies of dingo ecology is limited by human and physical resources, often constrained by funding cycles. Consequently, research has been skewed towards short-term, snapshot investigations undertaken at a spatial scale that is unrelated to dingo home range size, space use and life history. In turn, the certainty of ecological conclusions is constrained. Here we discuss the difficulties and limitations of much of the dingo research previously undertaken, including our own, and discuss the benefits of long-term data sets for elucidating ecological processes involving dingoes. We provide explanatory examples where current technological advances provide opportunities for improved monitoring and certainty around conclusions.