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

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 496-507 ◽  
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.

Helminths in coyotes (Canis latrans Say), wolves (Canis lupus L.), and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) of southwestern Manitoba

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 2614-2617 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. M. Samuel ◽  
S. Ramalingam ◽  
L. N. Carbyn
Keyword(s):  
Echinococcus Granulosus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
National Park ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Taenia Hydatigena ◽  
Parasitic Helminths ◽  
Riding Mountain National Park ◽  
Prevalent Species ◽  
Toxascaris Leonina

Forty-three coyotes, 12 wolves, and 6 red foxes from an area around Riding Mountain National Park in southwestern Manitoba were examined for parasitic helminths. Eleven, 8, and 5 species were found in coyotes, wolves, and red foxes, respectively. Alaria marcianae, Alaria arisaemoides, and Toxascaris leonina were found in all three host species; Echinococcus granulosus, Taenia hydatigena, Uncinaria stenocephala, and Oslerus (Oslerus) osleri in wolves and coyotes; and Echinococcus multilocularis in coyotes and red foxes. Taenia pisiformis and T. leonina were the most prevalent species in coyotes; E. multilocularis and E. granulosus, the most numerous. Echinococcus granulosus was the most prevalent and numerous species in wolves. Alaria marcianae and T. leonina were found in all red foxes. The significance of the coyote as a major definitive host of E. multilocularis in southwestern Manitoba is discussed.

scholarly journals Native Great Lakes wolves were not restored

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A Leonard ◽  
Robert K Wayne
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Endangered Species Act ◽  
Predator Control ◽  
Grey Wolf ◽  
The Us ◽  
Control Programmes ◽  
Us Endangered Species Act

Wolves from the Great Lakes area were historically decimated due to habitat loss and predator control programmes. Under the protection of the US Endangered Species Act, the population has rebounded to approximately 3000 individuals. We show that the pre-recovery population was dominated by mitochondrial DNA haplotypes from an endemic American wolf referred to here as the Great Lakes wolf. In contrast, the recent population is admixed, and probably derives also from the grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) of Old World origin and the coyote ( Canis latrans ). Consequently, the pre-recovery population has not been restored, casting doubt on delisting actions.

scholarly journals Wolf body mass cline across Minnesota related to taxonomy?

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (8) ◽  
pp. 933-936 ◽  
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.

Scent-marking behavior of sympatric wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (C. latrans) in Riding Mountain National Park

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1721-1727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Paquet
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
National Park ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Riding Mountain National Park ◽  
Ecological Separation

The objectives of this study were to describe the scent-marking behavior of sympatric wolves and coyotes, and determine whether scent marking has an interspecific behavioral significance and, if so, whether it is involved in maintaining ecological separation of the two species. The hypotheses tested were that coyotes travelling within active wolf areas reduce their frequency of marking and avoid wolf scent marks, and that wolves react to sympatric coyotes as transgressing conspecifics, and increase their scent marking. Marking by the two species was similar, both canids using the same scent mounds. Coyotes did not avoid areas marked by wolves, nor did they minimize evidence of their own activity. Coyotes increased their marking significantly in response to wolves. Wolves, however, did not respond to marks by coyotes.

scholarly journals Genetic analysis of historic western Great Lakes region wolf samples reveals early Canis lupus / lycaon hybridization

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Wheeldon ◽  
Bradley N White
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Wolf Population ◽  
Microsatellite Genotype ◽  
The Us ◽  
Western Great Lakes ◽  
Us Endangered Species Act ◽  
Canis Lycaon ◽  
Dna Profiles

The genetic status of wolves in the western Great Lakes region has received increased attention following the decision to remove them from protection under the US Endangered Species Act. A recent study of mitochondrial DNA has suggested that the recovered wolf population is not genetically representative of the historic population. We present microsatellite genotype data on three historic samples and compare them with extant populations, and interpret published genetic data to show that the pre-recovery population was admixed over a century ago by eastern wolf ( Canis lycaon ) and grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) hybridization. The DNA profiles of the historic samples are similar to those of extant animals in the region, suggesting that the current Great Lakes wolves are representative of the historic population.

Evidence for genetic hybridization between Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes cookei

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Patterson ◽  
Anna M. Duncan ◽  
Kelsey C. McIntyre ◽  
Vett K. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Genetic Introgression ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
As Species ◽  
Intermediate Traits

Ixodes scapularis Say, 1821 (the black-legged tick) is becoming established in Canada. The northwards expansion of I. scapularis leads to contact between I. scapularis and Ixodes cookei Packard, 1869, a well-established tick species in Eastern Canada. Examination of I. cookei and I. scapularis collected from New Brunswick revealed ticks with ambiguous morphologies, with either a mixture or intermediate traits typical of I. scapularis and I. cookei, including in characteristics typically used as species identifiers. Genetic analysis to determine if these ticks represent hybrids revealed that four had I. cookei derived mitochondrial DNA but I. scapularis nuclear DNA. In one case, the nuclear sequence showed evidence of heterozygosity for I. scapularis and I. cookei sequences, whereas in the others, the nuclear DNA appeared to be entirely derived from I. scapularis. These data strongly suggest genetic hybridization between these two species. Ixodes cookei and hybrid ticks were readily collected from humans and companion animals and specimens infected with Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson et al., 1984, the causative agent of Lyme disease, were identified. These findings raise the issue of genetic introgression of I. scapularis genes into I. cookei and warrant reassessment of the capacity of I. cookei and I. cookei × I. scapularis hybrids to vector Borrelia infection.

scholarly journals Table scraps: inter-trophic food provisioning by pumas

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 776-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Mark Elbroch ◽  
Heiko U. Wittmer
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
National Park ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Large Carnivores ◽  
Food Provisioning ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Food Subsidies ◽  
Vultur Gryphus ◽  
Natural Communities

Large carnivores perform keystone ecological functions through direct predation, or indirectly, through food subsidies to scavengers or trophic cascades driven by their influence on the distributions of their prey. Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are an elusive, cryptic species difficult to study and little is known about their inter-trophic-level interactions in natural communities. Using new GPS technology, we discovered that pumas in Patagonia provided 232 ± 31 kg of edible meat/month/100 km 2 to near-threatened Andean condors ( Vultur gryphus ) and other members of a diverse scavenger community. This is up to 3.1 times the contributions by wolves ( Canis lupus ) to communities in Yellowstone National Park, USA, and highlights the keystone role large, solitary felids play in natural systems. These findings are more pertinent than ever, for managers increasingly advocate controlling pumas and other large felids to bolster prey populations and mitigate concerns over human and livestock safety, without a full understanding of the potential ecological consequences of their actions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document