| Abstract: | Phenotypic diversity occurs in natural populations as a result of the interaction between an individual's genotype and the environment. Nevertheless, individual variation in phenotypic traits such as coat colour and body size is routinely used to differentiate between “pure” dingoes Canis dingo and dingo‐dog hybrids. Extensive anthropogenic impacts and widespread hybridization with domestic dogs has hindered our ability to study intact dingo populations and, therefore, most of our basic understanding of dingo biology (e.g., phenotypic variation, mating systems, genetic diversity) stems from observational studies on perturbed populations. We sampled a relatively undisturbed population of dingoes, from arid Australia, to determine their purity and genetic diversity. We explored their mating strategy using a pedigree built from genetic data and examined how phenotypic variation was influenced by age, sex, heterozygosity, and relatedness. Coat colour was our measure of phenotype and our population displayed four types (sandy, black & tan, white, and sable). All dingoes (n = 83) possessed a high level of dingo ancestry (mean purity > 90%) and were closely related to each other; with all but one individual related as full‐sibling or parent–offspring. Our pedigree shows both monogamous and promiscuous mating strategies exist within an undisturbed population. Variation in coat colour or body size cannot be used to infer a dingo's level of purity because the phenotype of pure dingoes is intrinsically variable. The breeding system of dingoes was long thought to be monogamous, but we provide genetic evidence for numerous mating strategies including both long‐term monogamy and extreme promiscuity. |
