Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria
Grey wolf ( Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758) is the largest representative of the Canidae family in Bulgaria. It inhabits almost the whole territory, most frequently the mountainous and hilly areas. The grey wolf is a hunting species in the country. Despite this, there is little information in the literat...
Published in: | Silva Balcanica |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Forest Research Institute (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
2024
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 |
id |
ftzenodo:oai:zenodo.org:11295055 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftzenodo:oai:zenodo.org:11295055 2024-09-09T19:35:33+00:00 Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria Ahmed, Atidzhe Koichev, Blagoy Andreev, Rossen Stepanov, Ivan Savev, Peter 2024-05-23 https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 unknown Forest Research Institute (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 oai:zenodo.org:11295055 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode Silva Balcanica, 25((1)), 101-107, (2024-05-23) carnivora body size sexual dimorphism info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2024 ftzenodo https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 2024-07-25T17:21:30Z Grey wolf ( Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758) is the largest representative of the Canidae family in Bulgaria. It inhabits almost the whole territory, most frequently the mountainous and hilly areas. The grey wolf is a hunting species in the country. Despite this, there is little information in the literature on its size. The aim of this work was to provide the first systematized data of the somatometric characteristics (weight – P; total body length – L; length of the body to the base of the tail – Lb; tail length – Lo and height at the withers – Hb) of the grey wolf in Bulgaria and to establish what is the degree of their sexual dimorphism. We found that the adult males are 24.3% heavier than the females (t=4.46; p<0.001). They also have a longer body by 8.8% (t = 3.66; p<0.001) and a greater height by 6.5% (U=546; p=0.005). The smallest difference (6.2%) between the two sexes was observed in tail length (U=629.5; p=0.03). The results of our study support the clear sexual dimorphism established in other wolf populations. Further studies are needed to link the wolf ’s body size data with prey type data in the respective areas for more clarity. This will be beneficial both for better wolf population management and for the accumulation of a database. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Zenodo Silva Balcanica 25 1 101 107 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Zenodo |
op_collection_id |
ftzenodo |
language |
unknown |
topic |
carnivora body size sexual dimorphism |
spellingShingle |
carnivora body size sexual dimorphism Ahmed, Atidzhe Koichev, Blagoy Andreev, Rossen Stepanov, Ivan Savev, Peter Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
topic_facet |
carnivora body size sexual dimorphism |
description |
Grey wolf ( Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758) is the largest representative of the Canidae family in Bulgaria. It inhabits almost the whole territory, most frequently the mountainous and hilly areas. The grey wolf is a hunting species in the country. Despite this, there is little information in the literature on its size. The aim of this work was to provide the first systematized data of the somatometric characteristics (weight – P; total body length – L; length of the body to the base of the tail – Lb; tail length – Lo and height at the withers – Hb) of the grey wolf in Bulgaria and to establish what is the degree of their sexual dimorphism. We found that the adult males are 24.3% heavier than the females (t=4.46; p<0.001). They also have a longer body by 8.8% (t = 3.66; p<0.001) and a greater height by 6.5% (U=546; p=0.005). The smallest difference (6.2%) between the two sexes was observed in tail length (U=629.5; p=0.03). The results of our study support the clear sexual dimorphism established in other wolf populations. Further studies are needed to link the wolf ’s body size data with prey type data in the respective areas for more clarity. This will be beneficial both for better wolf population management and for the accumulation of a database. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ahmed, Atidzhe Koichev, Blagoy Andreev, Rossen Stepanov, Ivan Savev, Peter |
author_facet |
Ahmed, Atidzhe Koichev, Blagoy Andreev, Rossen Stepanov, Ivan Savev, Peter |
author_sort |
Ahmed, Atidzhe |
title |
Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
title_short |
Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
title_full |
Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
title_fullStr |
Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
title_full_unstemmed |
Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria |
title_sort |
somatometric characteristics of the grey wolf (canis lupus) in bulgaria |
publisher |
Forest Research Institute (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Silva Balcanica, 25((1)), 101-107, (2024-05-23) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 oai:zenodo.org:11295055 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340 |
container_title |
Silva Balcanica |
container_volume |
25 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
101 |
op_container_end_page |
107 |
_version_ |
1809904932131700736 |