Past and present genetic diversity and structure of the Finnish wolf population

• Main Author: Jansson, E. (Eeva)
• Other Authors: Aspi, J. (Jouni), Ruokonen, M. (Minna), Liimatainen, J. (Jaana)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Oulun yliopisto 2013
• Subjects: conservation genetics; effective population size; gene flow; inbreeding; neutral genetic variation; population bottleneck; efektiivinen populaatiokoko; geenivirta; neutraali geneettinen muuntelu; populaation pullonkaula; sukusiitos; suojelugenetiikka; Canis lupus; North-Western Russia
• Online Access: http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526201160

Abstract Many species and populations have perished as a consequence of human actions. During the last ~200 years, large carnivores have been almost completely extirpated from Western Europe. Large-scale wolf hunting started in Finland around the 1850s, and the population size quickly collapsed. The population was very small until the mid-1990s, when wolves started to regularly reproduce in Finland again. The wolf is an endangered species in Finland, and the biggest threat to the species’ survival is excessive hunting. In this doctoral thesis study, I inspected the genetic structure and diversity of the Finnish wolf population using neutral genetic markers. Almost 300 wolves from the contemporary Finnish population and over 50 wolves from the north-western Russia were analyzed with genetic methods. Additionally, the genetic history of the population was examined with the help of over 100 museum samples. The modern Finnish wolf population proved to be genetically as diverse as the non-endangered Eastern European and North American wolf populations. However, the genetic diversity decreased significantly during the study period (1995–2009), and was at its lowest level in the final phase of the examination. In tandem, the inbreeding coefficient rose to a relatively high level. Genetic sub-structures were observed due to social structures within wolf packs. The mean dispersal distances of wolves were approximately only 100 km. The Finnish wolf population is divided into neighbourhoods of related individuals, and their size substantially decreased during the study period. This pattern, together with the growth of the inbreeding coefficient, suggests that lost alpha individuals in wolf packs are replaced by their offspring. This study demonstrated that Russian and Finnish wolf populations are nowadays genetically differentiated. Gene flow between the populations is low, despite the geographic interconnection. Only a few possible immigrants from Russia into Finland were detected in the study. The effective size of the ...