Reviving ghost alleles: Genetically admixed coyotes along the American Gulf Coast are critical for saving the endangered red wolf

The last red wolves were captured along the Gulf Coast in 1980, where they hybridized with coyote, to establish the captive breeding population. However, red wolf ancestry persists in local coyotes and could be leveraged by genomic innovations to support species persistence. We assessed genomic ancestry and morphology of coyotes in southwestern Louisiana, and find they carried 38-62% red wolf ancestry acquired in the last 30 years, which is enriched on land with minimal coyote hunting. These coyotes were also similar in ancestry to canids captured in the 1970s that initiated the red wolf captive breeding program. Further, we reported that coyotes with higher red wolf ancestry are larger in size. Our findings evidence the importance of hybrids as a reservoir of endangered species ancestry for contemporary conservation efforts. Admixed genomes are at the forefront of innovative solutions, with red wolf survival a prime candidate for this new paradigm.

Opposition based red wolf algorithm for solving optimal reactive power problem

<p>This paper presents an opposition based red wolf optimization (ORWO) algorithm for solving optimal reactive power problem. Each red wolf has a flag vector in the algorithm, and length is equivalent to the whole sum of numbers which features in the dataset of the wolf optimization (WO). In this proposed algorithm, red wolf optimization algorithm has been intermingled with opposition-based learning (OBL). By this amalgamate procedure the convergence speed of the proposed algorithm will be increased. To discover an improved candidate solution, the concurrent consideration of a probable and its corresponding opposite are estimated which is closer to the global optimum than an arbitrary candidate solution. Proposed algorithm has been tested in standard IEEE 14-bus and 300-bus test systems. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm reduced the real power loss considerably.</p>

Persistence and expansion of cryptic endangered red wolf genomic ancestry along the American Gulf coast

Admixture and introgression play a critical role in adaptation and genetic rescue that has only recently gained a deeper appreciation. Here, we explored the geographic and genomic landscape of cryptic ancestry of the endangered red wolf that persists within the genome of a ubiquitous sister taxon, the coyote, all the while the red wolf has been extinct in the wild since the early 1980s. We assessed admixture across 102,621 SNP loci genotyped in 293 canid genomes. We found support for increased red wolf ancestry along an east-to-west gradient across the southern United States that was associated with historical admixture in the past 100 years. Southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, the geographic zone where the last red wolves were known prior to their extinction in the wild, contained the highest and oldest levels of red wolf ancestry. X-linked regions of low recombination rates were depleted of introgression, relative to the autosomes, suggestive of the large X effect and enrichment with loci involved in maintaining reproductive isolation. Recombination rate was positively correlated with red wolf ancestry across coyote genomes, consistent with theoretical predictions. The geographic and genomic extent of cryptic red wolf ancestry can provide novel and variable genomic resources for the survival of the endangered red wolf.

Scavenging Effects of Large CanidsBoth authors contributed equally to this work

SynopsisMany large predators are also facultative scavengers that may compete with and depredate other species at carcasses. Yet, the ecological impacts of facultative scavenging by large predators, or their “scavenging effects”, still receive relatively little attention in comparison to their predation effects. To address this knowledge gap, we comprehensively examine the roles played by, and impacts of, facultative scavengers, with a focus on large canids: the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), dingo (Canis dingo), Ethiopian wolf (C. simensis), gray wolf (C. lupus), maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and red wolf (C. rufus). Specifically, after defining facultative scavenging as use or usurpation of a carcass that a consumer has not killed, we (i) provide a conceptual overview of the community interactions around carcasses that can be initiated by facultative scavengers, (ii) review the extent of scavenging by and the evidence for scavenging effects of large canids, (iii) discuss external factors that may diminish or enhance the effects of large canids as scavengers, and (iv) identify aspects of this phenomenon that require additional research attention as a guide for future work.