Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23081
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dc.contributor.authorButler, Jamesen
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Wendyen
dc.contributor.authordu Toit, Johanen
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-24T10:25:00Z-
dc.date.issued2018-
dc.identifier.citationAnimals, 8(5), p. 67-82en
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23081-
dc.description.abstractAs the global population of free-ranging domestic dogs grows, there is increasing concern about impacts on human health and wildlife conservation. Effective management of dog populations requires reliable information on their diet, feeding behavior, and social ecology. Free-ranging dogs are reliant on humans, but anthropogenic food subsidies, particularly human faeces (i.e., coprophagy) have not previously been fully quantified. In this study we assess the contributions of different food types to the diet, and their influences on the social behaviour of free-ranging dogs in communal lands of rural Zimbabwe, with a focus on coprophagy. Free-ranging dog diets, body condition, and sociology were studied amongst 72 dogs over 18 months using scat analysis and direct observations. Human faeces constituted the fourth most common item in scats (56% occurrence) and contributed 21% by mass to the observed diet. Human faeces represented a valuable resource because relative to other food items it was consistently available, and of higher nutritional value than 'sadza' (maize porridge, the human staple and primary human-derived food), yielding 18.7% crude protein and 18.7 KJ/kg gross energy, compared to 8.3% and 18.5 KJ/kg for sadza, respectively. Human faeces had protein and energy values equivalent to mammal remains, another important food item. Dog condition was generally good, with 64% of adult females and 74% of adult males in the highest two body condition scores (on a five point scale), suggesting a plentiful and high quality food supply. Dogs largely fed alone, perhaps as a consequence of the small, inert, and spatially dispersed items that comprise their diet, and its abundance. We discuss the relationships between sanitation, human development, the supply of human faeces, female dog fertility, and population control.en
dc.languageenen
dc.publisherMDPI AGen
dc.relation.ispartofAnimalsen
dc.titleAnthropogenic Food Subsidy to a Commensal Carnivore: The Value and Supply of Human Faeces in the Diet of Free-Ranging Dogsen
dc.typeJournal Articleen
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ani8050067en
dcterms.accessRightsGolden
dc.subject.keywordsAnimal Managementen
dc.subject.keywordsAnimal Nutritionen
dc.subject.keywordsAgricultural Land Managementen
local.contributor.firstnameJamesen
local.contributor.firstnameWendyen
local.contributor.firstnameJohanen
local.subject.for2008070203 Animal Managementen
local.subject.for2008070204 Animal Nutritionen
local.subject.for2008070101 Agricultural Land Managementen
local.subject.seo2008839901 Animal Welfareen
local.subject.seo2008960405 Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species at Regional or Larger Scalesen
local.subject.seo2008960805 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scalesen
local.profile.schoolSchool of Environmental and Rural Scienceen
local.profile.schoolSchool of Environmental and Rural Scienceen
local.profile.emailjbutle27@une.edu.auen
local.profile.emailwbrown@une.edu.auen
local.output.categoryC1en
local.record.placeauen
local.record.institutionUniversity of New Englanden
local.identifier.epublicationsrecordune-20180523-204940en
local.publisher.placeSwitzerlanden
local.format.startpage67en
local.format.endpage82en
local.identifier.scopusid85047845911en
local.peerreviewedYesen
local.identifier.volume8en
local.identifier.issue5en
local.title.subtitleThe Value and Supply of Human Faeces in the Diet of Free-Ranging Dogsen
local.access.fulltextYesen
local.contributor.lastnameButleren
local.contributor.lastnameBrownen
local.contributor.lastnamedu Toiten
dc.identifier.staffune-id:jbutle27en
dc.identifier.staffune-id:wbrownen
local.profile.orcid0000-0002-5309-3381en
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.profile.roleauthoren
local.identifier.unepublicationidune:23265en
local.identifier.handlehttps://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/23081en
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
dc.identifier.academiclevelAcademicen
local.title.maintitleAnthropogenic Food Subsidy to a Commensal Carnivoreen
local.output.categorydescriptionC1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journalen
local.search.authorButler, Jamesen
local.search.authorBrown, Wendyen
local.search.authordu Toit, Johanen
local.uneassociationUnknownen
local.identifier.wosid000435189700008en
local.year.published2018en
local.fileurl.closedpublishedhttps://rune.une.edu.au/web/retrieve/7fc56ce5-08a8-4e64-b4bb-2214bf8a30cfen
local.subject.for2020300302 Animal managementen
local.subject.for2020300303 Animal nutritionen
local.subject.for2020300202 Agricultural land managementen
local.subject.seo2020109902 Animal welfareen
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science
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