Eastern wolf

Abstract: Wolves are some of the world's most charismatic and controversial animals, capturing the imaginations of their friends and foes alike Highly intelligent and adaptable, they hunt and play together in close-knit packs, sometimes roaming over hundreds of square miles in search of food Once teetering on the brink of extinction across much of the United States and Europe, wolves have made a tremendous comeback in recent years, thanks to legal protection, changing human attitudes, and efforts to reintroduce them to suitable habitats in North America As wolf populations have rebounded, scientific studies of them have also flourished But there hasn't been a systematic, comprehensive overview of wolf biology since 1970 In "Wolves," many of the world's leading wolf experts provide state-of-the-art coverage of just about everything you could want to know about these fascinating creatures Individual chapters cover wolf social ecology, behavior, communication, feeding habits and hunting techniques, population dynamics, physiology and pathology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with nonhuman animals such as bears and coyotes, reintroduction, interactions with humans, and conservation and recovery efforts The book discusses both gray and red wolves in detail and includes information about wolves around the world, from the United States and Canada to Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and Mongolia "Wolves" is also extensively illustrated with black and white photos, line drawings, maps, and fifty color plates Unrivalled in scope and comprehensiveness, "Wolves" will become the definitive resource on these extraordinary animals for scientists and amateurs alike An excellent compilation of current knowledge, with contributions from all the main players in wolf research It is designed for a wide readership, and certainly the language and style will appeal to both scientists and lucophiles alike This is an excellent summary of current knowledge and will remain the standard reference work for a long time to come Stephen Harris, "New Scientist" This is the place to find almost any fact you want about wolves Stephen Mills, "BBC Wildlife Magazine" "

Abstract: Genetic divergence and gene flow among closely related populations are difficult to measure because mutation rates of most nuclear loci are so low that new mutations have not had sufficient time to appear and become fixed. Microsatellite loci are repeat arrays of simple sequences that have high mutation rates and are abundant in the eukaryotic genome. Large population samples can be screened for variation by using the polymerase chain reaction and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to separate alleles. We analyzed 10 microsatellite loci to quantify genetic differentiation and hybridization in three species of North American wolflike canids. We expected to find a pattern of genetic differentiation by distance to exist among wolflike canid populations, because of the finite dispersal distances of individuals. Moreover, we predicted that, because wolflike canids are highly mobile, hybrid zones may be more extensive and show substantial changes in allele frequency, relative to nonhybridizing populations. We demonstrate that wolves and coyotes do not show a pattern of genetic differentiation by distance. Genetic subdivision in coyotes, as measured by theta and Gst, is not significantly different from zero, reflecting persistent gene flow among newly established populations. However, gray wolves show significant subdivision that may be either due to drift in past Ice Age refugia populations or a result of other causes. Finally, in areas where gray wolves and coyotes hybridize, allele frequencies of gray wolves are affected, but those of coyotes are not. Past hybridization between the two species in the south-central United States may account for the origin of the red wolf.

Abstract: The grey wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (C. latrans) are highly mobile carnivores that disperse over great distances in search of territories and mates. Previous genetic studies have shown little geographical structure in either species. However, populatio

Abstract: THE red wolf, previously endemic to the southeastern United States, declined precipitously in numbers after 1900 because of habitat destruction, predator control programmes, and hybridiz-ation with coyotes1,2 Hybridization with coyotes probably occurred as these animals, which adjust well to agriculture, became numerous and moved eastwards1–4 By 1970, red wolves existed only in extreme southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisana (Fig 1)2 In 1967, red wolves were classified as endangered and a captive breeding programme was begun in 1974 after passage of the Endangered Species Act, about a year before they became extinct in the wild Protein electrophoresis and morphometrics have been used to try to discriminate red wolves from hybrids and coyotes1,4,5 But because the average substitution rate of mitochondrial DNA in mammals is much greater than that of nuclear genes6, mtDNA analysis is a more useful way of distinguishing closely related species We have now analysed mtDNA restriction-enzyme sites and cytochrome b gene sequence variation in captive red wolves and in 77 canids sampled during the capture period We also used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify and then sequenced mtDNA from red wolf skins collected before substantial hybridization of red wolves with coyotes is thought to have occurred Phylogenetic analysis indicates that red wolves have either a grey wolf or coyote mtDNA genotype, demonstrating hybridization among these species Thus, the red wolf is entirely a hybrid form or a distinct taxon that hybridized with coyotes and grey wolves over much of its previous geographical range Our findings, however, do not argue against the continued protection of the red wolf