Genetic support for the current discrete conservation unit of the Central European wolf population

Maciej Szewczyk; Carsten Nowak; Pavel Hulva; Joachim Mergeay; Astrid V. Stronen; Barbora Černá Bolfíková; Sylwia D. Czarnomska; Tom A. Diserens; Viktar Fenchuk; Michał Figura; Arjen de Groot; Andżelika Haidt; Michael M. Hansen; Hugh Jansman; Gesa Kluth; Iga Kwiatkowska; Karolina Lubińska; Johan R. Michaux; Natalia Niedźwiecka; Sabina Nowak; Kent Olsen; Ilka Reinhardt; Maciej Romański; Laurent Schley; Steve Smith; Renata Špinkytė-Bačkaitienė; Przemysław Stachyra; Kinga M. Stępniak; Peter Sunde; Philip F. Thomsen; Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica; Robert W. Mysłajek

doi:10.2981/wlb.00809

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3 May 2021 Genetic support for the current discrete conservation unit of the Central European wolf population

Maciej Szewczyk, Carsten Nowak, Pavel Hulva, Joachim Mergeay, Astrid V. Stronen, Barbora Černá Bolfíková, Sylwia D. Czarnomska, Tom A. Diserens, Viktar Fenchuk, Michał Figura, Arjen de Groot, Andżelika Haidt, Michael M. Hansen, Hugh Jansman, Gesa Kluth, Iga Kwiatkowska, Karolina Lubińska, Johan R. Michaux, Natalia Niedźwiecka, Sabina Nowak, Kent Olsen, Ilka Reinhardt, Maciej Romański, Laurent Schley, Steve Smith, Renata Špinkytė-Bačkaitienė, Przemysław Stachyra, Kinga M. Stępniak, Peter Sunde, Philip F. Thomsen, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Robert W. Mysłajek

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Wildlife Biology, 2021(2):wlb.00809 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00809

Abstract

The gray wolf Canis lupus range in central Europe is dynamically expanding, reconnecting previously isolated populations. Thus, a recent paper has proposed to merge the current Baltic and Central European (CE) wolf management units, which are no longer isolated by distance. However, recent genetic findings indicate that these two populations are not genetically homogenous. Here we review the most recent data on wolf genetic structure in central Europe and show that even though the CE and Baltic wolves represent the same phylogeographic lineage, their demographic history has resulted in significant genetic structure between these two populations. While the groups are interconnected by moderate gene flow, it is not high enough to reduce the strong founder signal observed in the CE population, suggesting that population dynamics within the CE wolf range are largely independent from those of its source (Baltic) population. Consequently, a management unit combining the CE and Baltic wolves would not form a demographically coherent entity. Thus, we recommend that conservation management units maintain their separate status.

© 2021 The Authors. This is an Open Access article This work is licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY) . The license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Maciej Szewczyk, Carsten Nowak, Pavel Hulva, Joachim Mergeay, Astrid V. Stronen, Barbora Černá Bolfíková, Sylwia D. Czarnomska, Tom A. Diserens, Viktar Fenchuk, Michał Figura, Arjen de Groot, Andżelika Haidt, Michael M. Hansen, Hugh Jansman, Gesa Kluth, Iga Kwiatkowska, Karolina Lubińska, Johan R. Michaux, Natalia Niedźwiecka, Sabina Nowak, Kent Olsen, Ilka Reinhardt, Maciej Romański, Laurent Schley, Steve Smith, Renata Špinkytė-Bačkaitienė, Przemysław Stachyra, Kinga M. Stępniak, Peter Sunde, Philip F. Thomsen, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, and Robert W. Mysłajek "Genetic support for the current discrete conservation unit of the Central European wolf population," Wildlife Biology 2021(2), wlb.00809-, (3 May 2021). https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00809

Accepted: 8 March 2021; Published: 3 May 2021

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