Abstract
BackgroundCarnivores are re-establishing in many human-populated areas, where their presence is often contentious. Reaching consensus on management decisions is often hampered by a dispute over the size of the local carnivore population. Understanding the reproductive dynamics and individual movements of the carnivores can provide support for management decisions, but individual-level information can be difficult to obtain from elusive, wide-ranging species. Non-invasive genetic sampling can yield such information, but makes subsequent reconstruction of population history challenging due to incomplete population coverage and error-prone data. Here, we combine a collaborative, volunteer-based sampling scheme with Bayesian pedigree reconstruction to describe the pack dynamics of an establishing grey wolf (Canis lupus) population in south-west Finland, where wolf breeding was recorded in 2006 for the first time in over a century.ResultsUsing DNA extracted mainly from faeces collected since 2008, we identified 81 individual wolves and assigned credible full parentages to 70 of these and partial parentages to a further 9, revealing 7 breeding pairs. Individuals used a range of strategies to obtain breeding opportunities, including dispersal to established or new packs, long-distance migration and inheriting breeding roles. Gene flow occurred between all packs but inbreeding events were rare.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that characterizing ongoing pack dynamics can provide detailed, locally-relevant insight into the ecology of contentious species such as the wolf. Involving various stakeholders in data collection makes these results more likely to be accepted as unbiased and hence reliable grounds for management decisions.
Highlights
Carnivores are re-establishing in many human-populated areas, where their presence is often conten‐ tious
Here, we have described the pack dynamics of a newlyestablished and expanding wolf population in southwest Finland based on a collaborative genetic sampling framework in which stakeholders representing a range of interests contributed to knowledge generation
Characterizing pack dynamics We found that all packs in this small recovering population are related through several different pathways
Summary
Carnivores are re-establishing in many human-populated areas, where their presence is often conten‐ tious. Rebounding started in 2006 when the first family pack was confirmed [10] These historical events have contributed to a pronounced conflict over the re-establishment of wolves between enforced, top– down conservation aims (e.g. strict protection under the European Union’s Habitats Directive) and local inhabitants’ concerns for the safety of their families, livestock and pets [8, 11, 13]. This cultural context, together with incidences of wolf sightings close to human settlements [14], has provoked strong calls for the complete eradication of wolves from the area [8, 11]
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