What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation
The genetic aspects of population health are critical, but frequently difficult to assess. Of concern has been the genetic constitution of Scandinavian wolves (Canis lupus), which represent an important case in conservation. We examined the incidence of different congenital anomalies for 171 Scandin...
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ftmichigantuniv:oai:digitalcommons.mtu.edu:michigantech-p-32672 2023-05-15T15:50:16+02:00 What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation Räikkönen, Jannikke Vucetich, John A. Vucetich, Leah M. Peterson, Rolf O. Nelson, Michael P. 2013-06-21T07:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/13369 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 unknown Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/13369 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 Michigan Tech Publications text 2013 ftmichigantuniv https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 2022-03-03T18:38:18Z The genetic aspects of population health are critical, but frequently difficult to assess. Of concern has been the genetic constitution of Scandinavian wolves (Canis lupus), which represent an important case in conservation. We examined the incidence of different congenital anomalies for 171 Scandinavian wolves, including the immigrant founder female, born during a 32-year period between 1978 and 2010. The incidence of anomalies rose from 13% to 40% throughout the 32-year study period. Our ability to detect this increase was likely facilitated by having considered multiple kinds of anomaly. Many of the found anomalies are likely associated with inbreeding or some form of genetic deterioration. These observations have implications for understanding the conservation needs of Scandinavian wolves. Moreover, these observations and the history of managing Scandinavian wolves focus attention on a broader question, whether conservation is merely about avoiding extinction of remnant populations, or whether conservation also entails maintaining genetic aspects of population health. © 2013 Räikkönen et al. Text Canis lupus Michigan Technological University: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech PLoS ONE 8 6 e67218 |
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Michigan Technological University: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech |
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ftmichigantuniv |
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unknown |
description |
The genetic aspects of population health are critical, but frequently difficult to assess. Of concern has been the genetic constitution of Scandinavian wolves (Canis lupus), which represent an important case in conservation. We examined the incidence of different congenital anomalies for 171 Scandinavian wolves, including the immigrant founder female, born during a 32-year period between 1978 and 2010. The incidence of anomalies rose from 13% to 40% throughout the 32-year study period. Our ability to detect this increase was likely facilitated by having considered multiple kinds of anomaly. Many of the found anomalies are likely associated with inbreeding or some form of genetic deterioration. These observations have implications for understanding the conservation needs of Scandinavian wolves. Moreover, these observations and the history of managing Scandinavian wolves focus attention on a broader question, whether conservation is merely about avoiding extinction of remnant populations, or whether conservation also entails maintaining genetic aspects of population health. © 2013 Räikkönen et al. |
format |
Text |
author |
Räikkönen, Jannikke Vucetich, John A. Vucetich, Leah M. Peterson, Rolf O. Nelson, Michael P. |
spellingShingle |
Räikkönen, Jannikke Vucetich, John A. Vucetich, Leah M. Peterson, Rolf O. Nelson, Michael P. What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
author_facet |
Räikkönen, Jannikke Vucetich, John A. Vucetich, Leah M. Peterson, Rolf O. Nelson, Michael P. |
author_sort |
Räikkönen, Jannikke |
title |
What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
title_short |
What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
title_full |
What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
title_fullStr |
What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
title_full_unstemmed |
What the Inbred Scandinavian Wolf Population Tells Us about the Nature of Conservation |
title_sort |
what the inbred scandinavian wolf population tells us about the nature of conservation |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/13369 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Michigan Tech Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/13369 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067218 |
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PLoS ONE |
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8 |
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6 |
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e67218 |
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1766385240188649472 |