Origin and status of the Great Lakes wolf.
An extensive debate concerning the origin and taxonomic status of wolf-like canids in the North American Great Lakes region and the consequences for conservation politics regarding these enigmatic predators is ongoing. Using maternally, paternally and biparentally inherited molecular markers, we demonstrate that the Great Lakes wolves are a unique population or ecotype of gray wolves. Furthermore, we show that the Great Lakes wolves experienced high degrees of ancient and recent introgression of coyote and western gray wolf mtDNA and Y-chromosome haplotypes, and that the recent demographic bottleneck caused by persecution and habitat depletion in the early 1900s is not reflected in the genetic data.
Koblmüller
Stephan
S
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18d, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
Nord
Maria
M
Wayne
Robert K
RK
Leonard
Jennifer A
JA
D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D046029:Coyotes / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006114:Great Lakes Region; D006239:Haplotypes; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D019596:Wolves / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D005819:Genetic Markers