Population Genomic Analysis of North American Eastern Wolves (Canis lycaon) Supports Their Conservation Priority Status.

ABSTRACT: The threatened eastern wolf is found predominantly in protected areas of central Ontario and has an evolutionary history obscured by interbreeding with coyotes and gray wolves, which challenges its conservation status and subsequent management. Here, we used a population genomics approach to uncover spatial patterns of variation in 281 canids in central Ontario and the Great Lakes region. This represents the first genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset with substantial sample sizes of representative populations. Although they comprise their own genetic cluster, we found evidence of eastern wolf dispersal outside of the boundaries of protected areas, in that the frequency of eastern wolf genetic variation decreases with increasing distance from provincial parks. We detecte

SUBMITTER: Heppenheimer E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6316216 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature