Questions

Human activity can alter animal behavior, and depending on the circumstances, it can either increase or decrease an animal's level of fearfulness. How do varying benefits and costs of associating with humans affect animals' fearfulness or boldness? Specifically, in Australia, dingoes and foxes can have foraging opportunities near humans due to refuse and anthropogenically modified landscapes, but there can also be lethal control used against them. How do different forms of human activity increase or decrease the fearfulness of canids in Australia?

Methods

I am addressing these questions using camera trap images of dingoes and red foxes in Australia. A series of images in a sequence can reveal when an animal boldly approaches a camera trap or when it warily flees. I am recruiting collaborators to share images of canids from across Australia to be a part of this study and be an author on any resulting publications.

Get involved

If you have any camera trap images of dingoes or red foxes in Australia and would like to be involved, please send me an email.

Collaborators

Rebecca Bliege Bird

Doug Bird

Dale Nimmo

William Geary

Euan Ritchie

Tim Doherty

Harry Moore

Darcy Watchorn

Emma Spencer

Vivianna Miritis

This research is funded by a Flower Grant for Ecological Research.