Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin
We analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from two historical samples of eastern North American wolves: the last wolf reported to have been killed in northern New York State (ca. 1890s) and a wolf killed in Maine in the 1880s. These wolves represent eastern wolves, presently classified as the gray w...
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2003
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z03-059 2024-09-15T18:01:07+00:00 Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin Wilson, P J Grewal, S McFadden, T Chambers, R C White, B N 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-059 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-059 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 5, page 936-940 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2003 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-059 2024-08-29T04:08:47Z We analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from two historical samples of eastern North American wolves: the last wolf reported to have been killed in northern New York State (ca. 1890s) and a wolf killed in Maine in the 1880s. These wolves represent eastern wolves, presently classified as the gray wolf (Canis lupus) subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, which were present well before the expansion of western coyotes (Canis latrans) into these regions. We show the absence of gray wolf mtDNA in these wolves. They both contain New World mtDNA, supporting previous findings of a North American evolution of the eastern timber wolf (originally classified as Canis lycaon) and red wolf (Canis rufus) independently of the gray wolf, which originated in Eurasia. The presence of a second wolf species in North America has important implications for the conservation and management of wolves. In the upper Great Lakes region, wolves of both species may exist in sympatry or interbreed with each other, which impacts the accuracy of estimates of numbers of wolves of each species within this geographic region. Furthermore, the historical distribution of the eastern timber wolf (C. lycaon), as revealed by these skin samples, has important implications for the reintroduction of wolves into the northeastern U.S. states, such as New York and Maine. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus gray wolf Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 81 5 936 940 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
We analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from two historical samples of eastern North American wolves: the last wolf reported to have been killed in northern New York State (ca. 1890s) and a wolf killed in Maine in the 1880s. These wolves represent eastern wolves, presently classified as the gray wolf (Canis lupus) subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, which were present well before the expansion of western coyotes (Canis latrans) into these regions. We show the absence of gray wolf mtDNA in these wolves. They both contain New World mtDNA, supporting previous findings of a North American evolution of the eastern timber wolf (originally classified as Canis lycaon) and red wolf (Canis rufus) independently of the gray wolf, which originated in Eurasia. The presence of a second wolf species in North America has important implications for the conservation and management of wolves. In the upper Great Lakes region, wolves of both species may exist in sympatry or interbreed with each other, which impacts the accuracy of estimates of numbers of wolves of each species within this geographic region. Furthermore, the historical distribution of the eastern timber wolf (C. lycaon), as revealed by these skin samples, has important implications for the reintroduction of wolves into the northeastern U.S. states, such as New York and Maine. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilson, P J Grewal, S McFadden, T Chambers, R C White, B N |
spellingShingle |
Wilson, P J Grewal, S McFadden, T Chambers, R C White, B N Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
author_facet |
Wilson, P J Grewal, S McFadden, T Chambers, R C White, B N |
author_sort |
Wilson, P J |
title |
Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
title_short |
Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
title_full |
Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
title_fullStr |
Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
title_sort |
mitochondrial dna extracted from eastern north american wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-059 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-059 |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 5, page 936-940 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-059 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
81 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
936 |
op_container_end_page |
940 |
_version_ |
1810438309852217344 |