Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Long-distance dispersal of a wolf, Canis lupus, in northwestern Europe

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Mammal Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 26 May 2015

Abstract

Several mammal species have recolonized their historical ranges across Europe during the last decades. In November 2012, a wolf-looking canid was found dead in Thy National Park (56° 56′ N, 8° 25′ E) in Jutland, Denmark. DNA from this individual and nine German wolves were genotyped using a genome-wide panel of 22,163 canine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and compared to existing profiles based on the same marker panel obtained from northeastern Polish (n = 13) wolves, domestic dogs (n = 13) and known wolf-dog hybrids (n = 4). The Thy canid was confirmed to be a wolf from the German-western Polish population, approximately 800 km to the southeast. Access to the German reference database on DNA profiles based on 13 autosomal microsatellites of German wolves made it possible to pinpoint the exact pack origin of the Thy wolf in Saxony, Germany. This was the first documented observation of a wolf in Denmark in 200 years and another example of long-distance dispersal of a carnivore.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Caniglia R, Fabbri E, Galaverni M, Milanesi P, Randi E (2014) Noninvasive sampling and genetic variability, pack structure, and dynamics in an expanding wolf population. J Mamm 95(1):41–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapron G, Kaczensky P, Linnell JDC, von Arx M, Huber D et al (2014) Recovery of large carnivores in Europe’s modern human-dominated landscapes. Science 346(6216):1517–1519

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Czarnomska SD, Jędrzejewska B, Borowik T, Niedziałkowska M, Stronen AV, Nowak S, Mysłajek RW, Okarma H, Konopiński M, Pilot M, Śmietana W, Caniglia R, Fabbri E, Randi E, Pertoldi C, Jędrzejewski W (2013) Concordant mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA structuring between Polish lowland and Carpathian Mountain wolves. Con Gen 14:573–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deinet S, Ieronymidou C, McRae L, Burfield IJ, Foppen RP, Collen B, Böhm M (2013) Wildlife comeback in Europe: the recovery of selected mammal and bird species. Final report to Rewilding Europe by the Zoological Society of London, BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council. London, UK, The Zoological Society of London

  • Duchamp C, Boyer J, Briaudet PE, Leonard Y, Perrine Moris P, Bataille A, Dahier T, Delacour G, Millisher G, Miquel C, Poillot C, Marboutin E (2012) A dual frame survey to assess time and space related changes of the colonizing wolf population in France. Hystrix 23(1):14–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Fechter D, Storch I (2014) How many wolves (Canis lupus) fit into Germany? The role of assumptions in predictive rule-based habitat models for habitat generalists. PLoS One 9:e101798

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Francisco LV, Langston AA, Mellersh CS, Neal CL, Ostrander EA (1996) A class of highly polymorphic tetra-nucleotide repeats for the canine genetic mapping. Mamm Genome 7(5):359–362

  • Fredholm M, Winterø AK (1995) Variation of short tandem repeats within and between species belonging to the Canidae family. Mamm Genome 6(1):11–18

  • Godinho R, Llaneza L, Blanco JC, Lopes S, Alvares F et al (2011) Genetic evidence for multiple events of hybridization between wolves and domestic dogs in the Iberian Peninsula. Mol Ecol 20:5154–5166

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hindrikson M, Mannil P, Ozolins J, Krzywinski A, Saarma U (2012) Bucking the trend in wolf-dog hybridization: first evidence from Europe of hybridization between female dogs and male wolves. PLoS One 7:e46465

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huck M, Jędrzejewski W, Borowik T, Jędrzejewska B, Nowak S, Mysłajek RW (2011) Analyses of least cost paths for determining effects of habitat types on landscape permeability: wolves in Poland. Acta Theriologica 56(1):91–101

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jędrzejewski W, Jędrzejewska B, Zawadzka B, Borowik T, Nowak S, Mysłajek RW (2008) Habitat suitability model for Polish wolves based on long-term national census. Anim Conserv 11(5):377–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen B (1993) Nordens Pattedyr. Gads Forlag, pp 325

  • Jombart T (2008) Adegenet: a R package for the multivariate analysis of genetic markers. Bioinformatics 24:1403–1405

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaczensky P, Chapron G, von Arx M, Huber D, Andrén H, et al (2013) Status, management and distribution of large carnivores—bear, lynx, wolf and wolverine—in Europe. Report to the EU Commission, 272 p

  • Kraus RHS, vonHoldt B, Cocchiararo B, Harms V, Bayerl H, Kühn R, Förster DW, Fickel J, Roos C, Nowak C (2014) A single-nucleotide polymorphism-based approach for rapid and cost-effective genetic wolf monitoring in Europe based on non-invasively collected samples. Mol Ecol Res. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12307

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuijper DPJ, de Kleine C, Churski M, van Hooft P, Bubnicki J, Jędrzejewska B (2013) Landscape of fear in Europe: wolves affect spatial patterns of ungulate browsing in Bialowieza Primeval Forest, Poland. Ecography 36:1263–1275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnell J, Salvatori V, Boitani L (2008) Guidelines for population level management plans for large carnivores in Europe. A Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe report prepared for the European Commission (contract 070501/2005/424162/MAR/B2)

  • Monzón J, Kays R, Dykhuizen DE (2014) Assessment of coyote-wolf-dog admixture using ancestry-informative diagnostic SNPs. Mol Ecol 23:182–197

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neff MW, Broman KW, Mellersh CS, Ray K, Acland GM, Aguirre GD, Ziegle JS, Ostrander EA, Rine J (1999) A secondgeneration genetic linkage map of the domestic dog, Canis familiaris. Genetics 151(2):803–820

  • Nowak S, Mysłajek RW, Kłosińska A, Gabryś G (2011) Diet and prey selection of wolves Canis lupus recolonising Western and Central Poland. Mamm Biol 76:709–715

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell S, Neale B, Todd-Brown K, Thomas L, Ferreira MAR, Bender D, Maller J, Sklar P, de Bakker PIW, Daly MJ, Sham PC (2007) PLINK: a tool set for whole-genome association and population-based linkage analyses. Am J Hum Genet 81:559–575

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

  • Randi E (2011) Genetics and conservation of wolves Canis lupus in Europe. Mammal Rev 41:99–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randi E, Hulva P, Fabbri E, Galaverni M, Galov A et al (2014) Multilocus detection of wolf x dog hybridization in Italy, and guidelines for marker selection. PLoS One 9(1):e86409. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086409

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt I, Kluth, G (2011) Pilotstudie zur Abwanderung und zur Ausbreitung von Wölfen in Deutschland. Final Report, F + E Vorhaben (FKZ 806 86 080)

  • Reinhardt I, Kluth, G, Nowak, N, Mysłajek, R (2013) A review of wolf management in Poland and Germany with recommendations for future transboundary collaboration. BfN Skripten 356

  • Rice WR (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43:223–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosser AM, Mainka SA (2002) Overexploitation and species extinctions. Con Biol 16(3):584–586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shibuya H, Kohu K, Yamada K, Barsoumian EL, Perlmutter RM, Taniguchi T (1994) Functional dissection of p56lck, a protein tyrosine kinase which mediates interleukin-2-induced activation of the c-fos gene. Mol Cell Biol 14(9):5812–5819

  • Stronen AV, Jędrzejewska B, Pertoldi C, Demontis D, Randi E, Niedziałkowska M, Pilot M, Sidorovich VE, Dykyy I, Kusak J, Tsingarska E, Kojola I, Karamanlidis AA, Ornicans A, Lobkov VA, Dumenko V, Czarnomska SD (2013) North-south differentiation and a region of high diversity in European wolves. PLoS One 8(10):e76454

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • 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 21:1294–1305

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wabakken P, Sand H, Kojola I, Zimmermann B, Arnemo JM, Pedersen HC, Liberg O (2007) Multistage, long-range natal dispersal by a global positioning system-collared Scandinavian wolf. J Wildl Manag 71:1631–1634

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all volunteers involved in sampling faecal samples and providing information on wolf sightings and behaviour in Germany and Poland. Microsatellite analyses of wolf samples from the Lausitz area were performed on behalf of the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Landwirtschaft. We want to thank Marcin Górny, Mammal Research Institute Polish Academy of Science, Bialowieza, Poland for preparing the map. AROS Applied Biotechnology A/S, Aarhus, Denmark is gratefully acknowledged for granting and conducting the canid chip genotyping. CN was funded from the grant SAW-2011-SGN-3 from the Leibniz Association (Germany). AVS received support from the Danish Research Council, grant no. DFF—1337-00007. CP has been supported by the Danish Natural Science Research Council (grant number: #21-01-0526, #21-03-0125 and 95095995). This study was partly funded by BIOCONSUS (Research Potential in Conservation and Sustainable Management of Biodiversity, 7th Framework Programme contract no. 245737—AVS), the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (grant no. NN 303 418437) and the Aalborg Zoo Conservation Foundation (AZCF).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, 8410, Rønde, Denmark

    Liselotte Wesley Andersen & Aksel Bo Madsen

  2. Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Clamecystraße. 12, 63571, Gelnhausen, Germany

    Verena Harms & Carsten Nowak

  3. Laboratorio di Genetica, ISPRA, 40064, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy

    Romolo Caniglia, Elena Fabbri & Ettore Randi

  4. Mammal Research Institute Polish Academy of Science, Waszkiewicza 1, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland

    Sylwia D. Czarnomska & Bogumiła Jędrzejewska

  5. LUPUS – German Institute for Wolf Monitoring and Research, Dorfstraße 20, 02979, Spreewitz, Germany

    Gesa Kluth & Ilka Reinhardt

  6. Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Frederik Bajers Vej 7H, DK-9220, Aalborg Øst, Denmark

    Cino Pertoldi, Ettore Randi & Astrid Vik Stronen

  7. Aalborg Zoo, Mølleparkvej 63, DK-9000, Aalborg, Denmark

    Cino Pertoldi

Authors
  1. Liselotte Wesley Andersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Verena Harms
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Romolo Caniglia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sylwia D. Czarnomska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Elena Fabbri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Bogumiła Jędrzejewska
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Gesa Kluth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Aksel Bo Madsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Carsten Nowak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Cino Pertoldi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Ettore Randi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Ilka Reinhardt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Astrid Vik Stronen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liselotte Wesley Andersen.

Additional information

Communicated by: Allan McDevitt

Author order apart from first, second and senior author is in alphabetic order.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Andersen, L.W., Harms, V., Caniglia, R. et al. Long-distance dispersal of a wolf, Canis lupus, in northwestern Europe. Mamm Res 60, 163–168 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-015-0220-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-015-0220-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation