What influences the home range size of free-roaming domestic dogs?

Dürr, Salome Esther; Dhand, N K; Bombara, C; Molloy, S; Ward, M P (2017). What influences the home range size of free-roaming domestic dogs? Epidemiology and infection, 145(7), pp. 1339-1350. Cambridge University Press 10.1017/S095026881700022X

[img]
Preview
Text
what_influences_the_home_range_size_of_freeroaming_domestic_dogs.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (340kB) | Preview

In many regions of the world domestic dogs are free roaming and live in close relationship with humans. These free-roaming domestic dogs (FRDD) can cause public health problems such as dog bites and transmission of infectious diseases. To effectively control diseases transmitted by FRDD, knowledge on the dogs' behaviour is required. To identify predictors of home range (HR) size, we collected global positioning system data from 135 FRDD living in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Northern Australia. The core HR size ranged from 0·17 to 2·33 ha and the extended HR size from 0·86 to 40·46 ha. Using a linear mixed effect model with a Restricted Maximum Likelihood approach, the dog's sex and reproductive status were identified as predictors of roaming. Non-castrated males had the largest HRs, followed by neutered females. Also, FRDDs were found to roam further during the pre- than the post-wet season. These findings have implications for infectious disease spread. Identification of risk groups for disease spread within a population allows for more targeted disease response and surveillance. Further investigation of predictors of roaming in other FRDD populations worldwide would increase the external validity of such studies.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Veterinary Public Health / Herd Health Management
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)

UniBE Contributor:

Dürr, Salome Esther

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0950-2688

Publisher:

Cambridge University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Susanne Agnes Lerch

Date Deposited:

14 Aug 2017 15:16

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:03

Publisher DOI:

10.1017/S095026881700022X

PubMed ID:

28202088

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Canine; REML mixed effect model; diseases spread; global positioning system; predictors

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.97189

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/97189

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback