Abstract
Given the recent re-colonization of gray wolves (Canis lupus) to the Pacific northwest, USA, and subsequent migration into northern California, understanding how well natural migration has restored historic diversity can inform management decisions. In this study, we report the mitochondrial DNA control region haplotypes of nine museum specimens that curators identified as C. lupus from Oregon, Nevada, and California. Among the nine samples currently available for genetic analysis of historic genetic diversity of C. l. spp. in the U.S. Pacific states, we found six previously described haplotypes including two domestic dog (C. l. familiaris) haplotypes. Notably, we present the first evidence of Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) ancestry in southern California while the northern Californian specimen, as well as one individual from Nevada, present a haplotype common to wolves from the historic American West and extant Canadian wolf populations. Finally, the three Oregon specimens shared a haplotype that is only observed in extant wolves from coastal British Columbia (the “coastal rainforest” wolf ecotype), indicating that the historical range of this haplotype reached as far south as southwestern Oregon. In conclusion, our results indicate that the genetic composition of historic wolf populations in the Pacific northwest and southwest states was polyphyletic and included wolves that share maternal ancestry with current populations from adjacent regions. These findings, in addition with future nuclear analyses, reveal more accurate historic range delimitations, which is critical information when designing appropriate management plans for wolves naturally re-colonizing the U.S. Pacific northwest and southwest regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Altschul SF, Madden T, Schaffer A, Zhang J, Zhang Z, Miller W, Lipman DJ (1997) Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs. Nucleic Acids Res 25:3389–3402
Bandelt H, Forster P, Röhl A (1999) Median-joining networks for inferring intraspecific phylogenies. Mol Biol Evol 16:37–48
CFGC California Fish and Game Commission (2014) Notice of finding and notice of proposed rulemaking Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). State of California. http://www.fgc.ca.gov/CESA/gwfindingslistingwarranted.pdf. Accessed 30 October 2014
Chambers S, Fain S, Fazio B, Amaral M (2012) An account of the taxonomy of North American wolves from morphological and genetic analysis. N Am Fauna 77:1–67
Corander J, Tang J (2007) Bayesian analysis of population structure based on linked molecular information. Math Biosci 205:19–31
Goldman EA (1944) Classification of wolves. Part II. In: Young S, Goldman E (eds) The wolves of North America. District of Columbia: The American Wildlife Institute, Washington, pp 441–471
Grinnell J, Dixon J, Lindsdale J (1937) Fur-bearing mammals of California: their natural history, systematic status, and relations to man, vol II. University of California Press, University of California, Berkeley
Hey J (1991) The structure of genealogies and the distribution of fixed differences between DNA sequence samples from natural populations. Genetics 128:831–840
Ingles L (1963) Status of the wolf in California. J Mammal 44(1):109–110
Kays R, Curtis A, Kirchman J (2010) Rapid adaptive evolution of northeastern coyotes via hybridization with wolves. Biol Lett 6(1):89–93
Leonard JA, Wayne RK, Wheeler J, Valadez R, Guillen S, Vilà C (2002) Ancient DNA evidence for old world origin of new world dogs. Science 298(5598):1613–1616
Leonard JA, Vilà C, Wayne RK (2005) Legacy lost: genetic variability and population size of extirpated US grey wolves (Canis lupus). Mol Ecol 14(1):9–17
Librado P, Rozas J (2009) DnaSP v5: a software for comprehensive analysis of DNA polymorphism data. Bioinformatics 25:1451–1452
McCullough DR (1967) The probably affinities of a wolf captured near Woodlake, California. Calif Fish Game 53(3):146–153
Mech DL, Boitani L (2003) Behavior, ecology, and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Muñoz-Fuentes V, Darimont CT, Wayne RK, Paquet PC, Leonard JA (2009) Ecological factors drive differentiation in wolves from British Columbia. J Biogeogr 36:1516–1531
Muñoz-Fuentes V, Darimont CT, Paquet PC, Leonard JA (2010) The genetic legacy of extirpation and re-colonization in Vancouver Island Wolves. Conserv Genet 11:547–556
Nowak, RM (1995) Another look at wolf taxonomy. In: Carbyn LN, Fritts SH, Seip DR (eds) Ecology and conservation of wolves in a changing world. Canadian Circumpolar Institute Occasional Publication 35, pp 409–416
ODFW (2013) Oregon wolf conservation and management 2012 annual report. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 3406 Cherry Ave. Salem, OR, 97303
Parsons D (1996) Case study: the Mexican wolf. In: Herrera EA, Huenneke LF (eds) New Mexico’s natural heritage: biological diversity in the land of enchantment, 36th edn. New Mex J Science, Albuquerque, pp 101–123
Pitra C, Schwarz S, Fickel J (2009) Going west—invasion genetics of the alien raccoon dog Nyctereutes procynoides in Europe. Eur J Wildl Res 56(2):117–129
Rohland N, Hofreiter M (2007) Ancient DNA extraction from bones and teeth. Nat Protoc 2(7):1756–1762
Stronen AV, Forbes GJ, Sallows T, Goulet G, Musiani M, Paquet PC (2010) Wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in the riding mountain national park region of Manitoba, Canada. Can J Zool 88:496–507
Tajima F (1983) Evolutionary relationship of DNA sequences in finite populations. Genetics 105:437–460
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2014) Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; removing the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and maintaining protections for the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) by listing it as endangered; proposed rule; notice of availability and reopening of comment period. Fed Regist 79:7627–7629
Vilà C, Savolainen P, Maldonado JE, Amorim IR, Rice JE, Honeycutt RL, Crandall KA, Lundeberg J, Wayne RK (1997) Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog. Science 276(5319):1687–1689
Vilà C, Amorim IR, Leonard JA, Posada D, Castroviejo J, Petrucci-Fonseca F, Crandall KA, Ellegren H, Wayne RK (1999) Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and population history of the grey wolf Canis lupus. Mol Ecol 8:2089–2103
vonHoldt BM, Pollinger JP, Earl DA, Knowles JC, Boyko AR, Parker H, Geffen E, Pilot M, Jedrzejewski W, Jedrzejewska B, Sidorovich V, Greco C, Randi E, Musiani M, Kays R, Bustamante CD, Ostrander EA, Novembre J, Wayne RK (2011) A genome-wide perspective on the evolutionary history of enigmatic wolf-like canids. Genome Res 21(8):1294–1305
Weckworth BV, Talbot SL, Cook JA (2010) Phylogeography of wolves (Canis lupus) in the Pacific Northwest. J Mammal 91:363–375
Wiles GJ, Allen HL, Hayes GE (2011) Wolf conservation and management plan for Washington. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, Washington
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to Eileen Lacey and Chris Conroy of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), University of California Berkeley for giving us access to their collection. We acknowledge financial support from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. We are grateful to Ryan Harrigan for proofreading earlier versions of this manuscript and to three reviewers for comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hendricks, S.A., Charruau, P.C., Pollinger, J.P. et al. Polyphyletic ancestry of historic gray wolves inhabiting U.S. Pacific states. Conserv Genet 16, 759–764 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0687-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0687-8