A GENETIC ASSESSMENT OF THE EASTERN WOLF (CANIS LYCAON) IN ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK

Human disturbance at wolf dens and rendezvous sites (homesites) may have direct effects on pup survival and could result in the alteration of homesite-use characteristics. During a demographic study of eastern wolves ( Canis lycaon ) in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, we entered active homesites to tag pups with VHF radio transmitters. Homesite attendance and pup survival data collected in 2003–2005 were used to determine (i) the immediate response of wolves to disturbance at homesites, (ii) whether distance moved between homesites was influenced by disturbance, (iii) if pup survival was compromised by researcher disturbance, and (iv) whether reuse in subsequent years differed between disturbed and undisturbed den sites. Packs tended to relocate pups after a disturbance, though we did not detect a difference in distances travelled between natural homesite shifts and those following disturbance. Disturbed homesites were reused in following years at a similar frequency as undisturbed homesites (6 of 15 vs. 8 of 22 homesites, respectively). Although postcapture mortality risk was slightly elevated for pups, we could not detect long-term effects of disturbance. This resilience to disturbance, and our documentation of effective techniques for radio-tagging young pups, demonstrate that research on wolf pup demography can be performed effectively without causing unacceptable negative impacts on wolf behaviour or mortality.

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Wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in the Riding Mountain National Park region of Manitoba, Canada

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z10-021 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 88 (5) ◽

pp. 496-507 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Astrid V. Stronen ◽

Graham J. Forbes ◽

Tim Sallows ◽

Gloria Goulet ◽

Marco Musiani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Dna ◽

Great Lakes ◽

Body Mass ◽

Canis Lupus ◽

National Park ◽

Skull Morphology ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Riding Mountain National Park ◽

Canis Lycaon ◽

Provincial Park

Two types of wolves, gray ( Canis lupus L., 1758) and eastern ( Canis lupus lycaon Schreber, 1775 or Canis lycaon ) or Great Lakes wolves, representing Old World (OW) and New World (NW) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, have been reported in eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region. Both haplotypes were found in Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest, Manitoba. Only OW haplotypes have been reported from the isolated Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP), 30 km to the south. Wolves with NW haplotypes hybridize with C. lupus and coyotes ( Canis latrans Say, 1823) and could mediate gene flow between canids. We examined available data on wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mtDNA from the RMNP region, as well as mtDNA from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, to assess the occurrence of NW haplotypes in wolves and possible canid hybridization. Mean body mass of female (n = 54) and male (n = 42) RMNP wolves during 1985–1987 was higher than that of females (n = 12) and males (n = 8) during 1999–2004. Thirteen skull measures from 29 wolf skulls did not suggest significant differences between RMNP and Duck Mountain wolves. Nineteen of 20 RMNP samples had OW haplotypes, whereas one clustered together with NW haplotypes.

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Observation of an Eastern Wolf (Canis sp. cf. lycaon) Caching Food in a Sphagnum Bog in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v130i4.1930 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 130 (4) ◽

pp. 351

Author(s):

Patrick D Moldowan ◽

Hugo Kitching

Keyword(s):

Spatial Ecology ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Food Storage ◽

Future Research ◽

Food Stores ◽

Food Caching ◽

Eastern Wolf ◽

Sphagnum Bog ◽

Pup Mortality ◽

Provincial Park

We report summer caching of a partial carcass of a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn by an Eastern Wolf (Canis sp. cf. lycaon) in a Sphagnum bog in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. The microhabitat conditions in bogs (i.e., low temperature, acidity, and organochemical compounds) likely inhibit food spoilage, making bogs potentially important sites for food caching. Wolves in Algonquin Park experience low summer food availability and high pup mortality from starvation. Caches likely serve as necessary reserve food stores for adults and pups. Recent research has shown that wetland habitats are important den and rendezvous sites for Algonquin Eastern Wolves based on prey availability and, we suggest, perhaps for food storage and accessibility. This caching behaviour was recorded on video. We recommend that future research investigate Eastern Wolf selection of food-caching sites, as a complement to other spatial ecology studies.

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Population Genomic Analysis of North American Eastern Wolves (Canis lycaon) Supports Their Conservation Priority Status

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes9120606 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 606 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Elizabeth Heppenheimer ◽

Ryan J. Harrigan ◽

Linda Y. Rutledge ◽

Klaus-Peter Koepfli ◽

Alexandra L. DeCandia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Population Genomics ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Genetic Material ◽

Genomic Analysis ◽

Single Nucleotide ◽

Gray Wolves ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Eastern Wolf ◽

Canis Lycaon

The threatened eastern wolf is found predominantly in protected areas of central Ontario and has an evolutionary history obscured by interbreeding with coyotes and gray wolves, which challenges its conservation status and subsequent management. Here, we used a population genomics approach to uncover spatial patterns of variation in 281 canids in central Ontario and the Great Lakes region. This represents the first genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset with substantial sample sizes of representative populations. Although they comprise their own genetic cluster, we found evidence of eastern wolf dispersal outside of the boundaries of protected areas, in that the frequency of eastern wolf genetic variation decreases with increasing distance from provincial parks. We detected eastern wolf alleles in admixed coyotes along the northeastern regions of Lake Huron and Lake Ontario. Our analyses confirm the unique genomic composition of eastern wolves, which are mostly restricted to small fragmented patches of protected habitat in central Ontario. We hope this work will encourage an innovative discussion regarding a plan for managed introgression, which could conserve eastern wolf genetic material in any genome regardless of their potential mosaic ancestry composition and the habitats that promote them.

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Moose (Alces alces) predation by eastern coyotes (Canis latrans) and eastern coyote × eastern wolf (Canis latrans × Canis lycaon) hybrids

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2013-0160 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (11) ◽

pp. 837-841 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

J.F. Benson ◽

B.R. Patterson

Keyword(s):

Genetic Analysis ◽

Canis Latrans ◽

Alces Alces ◽

Field Investigation ◽

Population Viability ◽

Gps Telemetry ◽

Potential Source ◽

Eastern Wolf ◽

Canis Lycaon ◽

Moose Population

It has been widely assumed that coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) are incapable of killing adult moose (Alces alces (L., 1758)) and previous studies of coyote predation support this assumption. However, eastern coyotes and eastern coyote × eastern wolf (Canis lycaon Schreber, 1775) are larger than western coyotes and appear to rely on larger prey in some areas. We used a combination of GPS telemetry, genetic analysis, and field investigation to test the hypothesis that eastern coyotes and coyote × wolf hybrids are capable of preying on adult moose in central Ontario. Our hypothesis was supported, as we documented four definitive cases of eastern coyotes and (or) eastern coyote × eastern wolf hybrids killing moose ≥1.5 years old. Predation by coyotes and coyote × wolf hybrids probably does not represent a threat to moose population viability in central Ontario, but our results suggest that researchers and managers in other areas with declining moose populations that are sympatric with eastern coyotes and (or) coyote × wolf hybrids should consider coyote predation as a potential source of mortality.

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Wolf body mass cline across Minnesota related to taxonomy?

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z08-068 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 86 (8) ◽

pp. 933-936 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

L. David Mech ◽

William J. Paul

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Canis Lupus ◽

Canis Rufus ◽

Genetic Studies ◽

Eastern Wolf ◽

Canis Lycaon

Recent genetic studies suggest that in northern Minnesota two species of wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758 or western wolf and Canis lycaon Schreber, 1775 (= Canis rufus Audubon and Bachman, 1851) or eastern wolf) meet and hybridize. However, little morphological information is available about these two types of wolves in Minnesota. We analyzed the mass of 950 female wolves and 1006 males older than 1 year from across northern Minnesota and found that it increased from 26.30 ± 0.56 kg (mean ± SE) for females and 30.60 ± 0.72 kg for males in northeastern Minnesota to 30.01 ± 0.43 kg for females and 35.94 ± 0.45 kg for males in northwestern Minnesota (females: r2 = 0.79, P < 0.02; males: r2 = 0.63, P = 0.06). These mass differences add morphological information to the identities of eastern and western wolves and support the view that ranges of the two species meet in Minnesota.

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