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A Longitudinal Study of the Sociosexual Dynamics in a Captive Family Group of Wolves: The University of Connecticut Wolf Project

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Abstract

An interest in the role of the social environment on the evolution of behavior led Professor Benson Ginsburg to studies of wolf social behavior. He initiated the University of Connecticut wolf project with a family group of wolves housed in a protected enclosure in an isolated area of campus. One aim of this project was to conduct a longitudinal study of a family group of wolves in order to understand the proximate behavioral mechanisms underlying mating dynamics with a degree of control and opportunistic observation that could not be achieved through field studies. The development of social relationships and the dynamics of mating were observed for 9 years. As in nature, agonistic relationships strongly influenced reproductive success, successful breeding was limited to a single pair each season, and the behavioral dynamics included status transitions with breeder rotations. Our work, when combined with the results of other captive wolf studies, has contributed valuable information to the general understanding of wolf social behavior, especially regarding the proximate behavior patterns underlying group social interactions and reproduction. This understanding has broadened perspectives on the dynamic interplay between social behavior and evolutionary processes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (B.E.G.) and the University of Connecticut Research Foundation (S.M.J.). The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Mary D. Fine, N. Laurie Hiestand, Renee G. Prouty and Alice Trattner for their help with observations and data checking, and would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for thought-provoking commentary. In addition, the author would like to especially acknowledge Cynthia Schotte for initiating the project with Benson E. Ginsburg and for her work during the formative years. Last, but not least, the author gives very special thanks to the wolves for allowing her “voyeurism”—an opportunity of great academic and personal joy.

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  1. Departments of Biology and Psychology, The Sage Colleges, 65 First Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Susan M. Jenks

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Correspondence to Susan M. Jenks.

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Edited by Stephen Maxson.

The paper originated in a festschrift, Nurturing the Genome, to honor Benson E. Ginsburg on June 2, 2002 and is part of a special issue of Behavior Genetics based on that festschrift.

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Jenks, S.M. A Longitudinal Study of the Sociosexual Dynamics in a Captive Family Group of Wolves: The University of Connecticut Wolf Project. Behav Genet 41, 810–829 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-011-9453-6

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