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vonHoldt BM, Stahler DR, Brzeski KE, Musiani M, Peterson R, Phillips M, Stephenson J, Laudon K, Meredith E, Vucetich JA, Leonard JA, Wayne RK. Demographic history shapes North American gray wolf genomic diversity and informs species' conservation. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17231. [PMID: 38054561 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Effective population size estimates are critical information needed for evolutionary predictions and conservation decisions. This is particularly true for species with social factors that restrict access to breeding or experience repeated fluctuations in population size across generations. We investigated the genomic estimates of effective population size along with diversity, subdivision, and inbreeding from 162,109 minimally filtered and 81,595 statistically neutral and unlinked SNPs genotyped in 437 grey wolf samples from North America collected between 1986 and 2021. We found genetic structure across North America, represented by three distinct demographic histories of western, central, and eastern regions of the continent. Further, grey wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains have lower genomic diversity than wolves of the western Great Lakes and have declined over time. Effective population size estimates revealed the historical signatures of continental efforts of predator extermination, despite a quarter century of recovery efforts. We are the first to provide molecular estimates of effective population size across distinct grey wolf populations in North America, which ranged between Ne ~ 275 and 3050 since early 1980s. We provide data that inform managers regarding the status and importance of effective population size estimates for grey wolf conservation, which are on average 5.2-9.3% of census estimates for this species. We show that while grey wolves fall above minimum effective population sizes needed to avoid extinction due to inbreeding depression in the short term, they are below sizes predicted to be necessary to avoid long-term risk of extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridgett M vonHoldt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Daniel R Stahler
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
| | - Kristin E Brzeski
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA
| | - Marco Musiani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali (BiGeA), Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rolf Peterson
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA
| | | | | | - Kent Laudon
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Northern Region, Redding, California, USA
| | - Erin Meredith
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - John A Vucetich
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, USA
| | - Jennifer A Leonard
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Robert K Wayne
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Wikenros C, Di Bernardi C, Zimmermann B, Åkesson M, Demski M, Flagstad Ø, Mattisson J, Tallian A, Wabakken P, Sand H. Scavenging patterns of an inbred wolf population in a landscape with a pulse of human-provided carrion. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10236. [PMID: 37415640 PMCID: PMC10319521 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Scavenging is an important part of food acquisition for many carnivore species that switch between scavenging and predation. In landscapes with anthropogenic impact, humans provide food that scavenging species can utilize. We quantified the magnitude of killing versus scavenging by gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Scandinavia where humans impact the ecosystem through hunter harvest, land use practices, and infrastructure. We investigated the cause of death of different animals utilized by wolves, and examined how the proportion of their consumption time spent scavenging was influenced by season, wolf social affiliation, level of inbreeding, density of moose (Alces alces) as their main prey, density of brown bear (Ursus arctos) as an intraguild competitor, and human density. We used data from 39 GPS-collared wolves covering 3198 study days (2001-2019), including 14,205 feeding locations within space-time clusters, and 1362 carcasses utilized by wolves. Most carcasses were wolf-killed (80.5%) while a small part had died from other natural causes (1.9%). The remaining had either anthropogenic mortality causes (4.7%), or the cause of death was unknown (12.9%). Time spent scavenging was higher during winter than during summer and autumn. Solitary wolves spent more time scavenging than pack-living individuals, likely because individual hunting success is lower than pack success. Scavenging time increased with the mean inbreeding coefficient of the adult wolves, possibly indicating that more inbred individuals resort to scavenging, which requires less body strength. There was weak evidence for competition between wolves and brown bears as well as a positive relationship between human density and time spent scavenging. This study shows how both intrinsic and extrinsic factors drive wolf scavenging behavior, and that despite a high level of inbreeding and access to carrion of anthropogenic origin, wolves mainly utilized their own kills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Wikenros
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
| | - Cecilia Di Bernardi
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”University of Rome La SapienzaRomeItaly
| | - Barbara Zimmermann
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and BiotechnologyInland Norway University of Applied SciencesElverumNorway
| | - Mikael Åkesson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
| | - Maike Demski
- County Administrative Board of NorrbottenLuleåSweden
| | | | - Jenny Mattisson
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
| | - Aimee Tallian
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
| | - Petter Wabakken
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and BiotechnologyInland Norway University of Applied SciencesElverumNorway
| | - Håkan Sand
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesRiddarhyttanSweden
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Thompson LM, Thurman LL, Cook CN, Beever EA, Sgrò CM, Battles A, Botero CA, Gross JE, Hall KR, Hendry AP, Hoffmann AA, Hoving C, LeDee OE, Mengelt C, Nicotra AB, Niver RA, Pérez‐Jvostov F, Quiñones RM, Schuurman GW, Schwartz MK, Szymanski J, Whiteley A. Connecting research and practice to enhance the evolutionary potential of species under climate change. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Thompson
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Climate Adaptation Science Center and the University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee USA
| | | | - Carly N. Cook
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Australia
| | - Erik A. Beever
- USGS, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center and Montana State University Bozeman Montana USA
| | - Carla M. Sgrò
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Australia
| | | | | | - John E. Gross
- National Park Service (NPS) Climate Change Response Program Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Olivia E. LeDee
- USGS, Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Saint Paul Minnesota USA
| | | | | | - Robyn A. Niver
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Branch of Listing and Policy Support Bailey's Crossroads Virginia USA
| | | | - Rebecca M. Quiñones
- Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Westborough Massachusetts USA
| | - Gregor W. Schuurman
- National Park Service (NPS) Climate Change Response Program Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Michael K. Schwartz
- U.S. Forest Service, National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation Missoula Montana USA
| | - Jennifer Szymanski
- USFWS, Branch of SSA Science Support, Division of Endangered Species Onalaska Wisconsin USA
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Laikre L, Allendorf FW, Aspi J, Carroll C, Dalén L, Fredrickson R, Wheat CH, Hedrick P, Johannesson K, Kardos M, Peterson RO, Phillips M, Ryman N, Räikkönen J, Vilà C, Wheat CW, Vernesi C, Vucetich JA. Planned cull endangers Swedish wolf population. Science 2022; 377:162. [DOI: 10.1126/science.add5299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Laikre
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fred W. Allendorf
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Jouni Aspi
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland
| | - Carlos Carroll
- Klamath Center for Conservation Research, Orleans, CA 95556, USA
| | - Love Dalén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, SE 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, SE 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Philip Hedrick
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | | | - Marty Kardos
- National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA 98112, USA
| | - Rolf O. Peterson
- College of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
| | - Mike Phillips
- Turner Endangered Species Fund, Bozeman, MT 59718, USA
| | - Nils Ryman
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, SE 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jannikke Räikkönen
- Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring, Swedish Museum of Natural History, SE 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Carles Vilà
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | | | - Cristiano Vernesi
- Forest Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre–Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige 38010 (TN), Italy
| | - John A. Vucetich
- College of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
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