Long-distance wolf recolonization of France and Switzerland inferred from non-invasive genetic sampling over a period of 10 years

• Published in: Animal Conservation
• Main Authors: Valiere, N., Fumagalli, L., Gielly, L., Miquel, C., Lequette, B., Poulle, M. L., Weber, J. M., Arlettaz, R., Taberlet, P.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Biologie de la Conservation (LBC), Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne (UNIL), Parc National du Mercantour, Programme Life-loup, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, KORA, Zoological Institute - Conservation Biology, Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2003
• Subjects: MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA VARIABILITY; CANIS-LUPUS POPULATION; CONSERVATION GENETICS; HYBRIDIZATION; CONSEQUENCES; EUROPE; WOLVES; FECES; SIZE; PCR; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://hal.science/halsde-00280559; https://doi.org/10.1017/S1367943003003111

Times Cited: 10 International audience In the early 1900s, the wolf (Canis lupus) was extirpated from France and Switzerland. There is growing evidence that the species is presently recolonizing these countries in the western Alps. By sequencing the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of various samples mainly collected in the field (scats, hairs, regurgitates, blood or tissue; n = 292), we could (1) develop a non-invasive method enabling the unambiguous attribution of these samples to wolf, fox (Vulpes vulpes) or dog (Canis familiaris), among others; (2) demonstrate that Italian, French and Swiss wolves share the same mtDNA haplotype, a haplotype that has never been found in any other wolf population world-wide. Combined together, field and genetic data collected over 10 years corroborate the scenario of a natural expansion of wolves from the Italian source population. Furthermore, such a genetic approach is of conservation significance, since it has important consequences for management decisions. This first long-term report using non-invasive sampling demonstrates that long-distance dispersers are common, supporting the hypothesis that individuals may often attempt to colonize far from their native pack, even in the absence of suitable corridors across habitats characterized by intense human activities.