Abstract
AbstractConcerns over red wolf (Canis rufus) extinction caused by hybridization with coyotes (C. latrans) led to the capture and removal of remnant wild wolves from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, United States, during the 1970s. Here we show that despite decades of unmitigated hybridization, and declaration of endangered red wolves as functionally extinct in the wild, red wolf mitochondrial or nuclear DNA ancestry persists in ∼55% of contemporary wild canids sampled in southwestern Louisiana. Surprisingly, one individual had 78–100% red wolf ancestry, which is within the range for 75% red wolf, red wolf backcross, or putative red wolf, depending on estimation method. Our findings bolster support for designation of red wolves as a distinct species, demonstrate a critical need for the United States Government to consider adopting an existing but unimplemented hybrid policy, and suggest that immediate reassessment of canid management and taxonomic designation in southwestern Louisiana may be warranted.
Highlights
Endangered red wolves (Canis rufus) are arguably the most imperiled wolf species in the world
To thwart a presumed imminent extinction of red wolves caused by hybridization with coyotes (C. latrans) and small population size, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) conducted intensive capture and removal efforts in the area during the 1970s, which led to the creation of a red wolf captive breeding colony (Carley, 1975; FWS, 2018c; Hinton, Chamberlain, & Rabon, 2013)
A lack of information regarding what may happen if the placeholder strategy is abolished and hybridization allowed to occur in the nonessential experimental population (NEP) was identified as a major uncertainty of the current red wolf recovery program (FWS, 2018b; Wildlife Management Institute, 2014)
Summary
Endangered red wolves (Canis rufus) are arguably the most imperiled wolf species in the world. Red wolf recovery and taxonomic designation have since become contentious issues, in recent years (Hinton et al, 2013; Hinton, White, Rabon, & Chamberlain, 2017; Hohenlohe et al, 2017; vonHoldt et al, 2016; Waples, Kays, Fredrickson, Pacifici, & Mills, 2018). Genetic research of canids currently inhabiting southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, where the last remaining wild red wolf population resided, could provide invaluable insight into red wolf-coyote hybridization, potential outcomes of suspending the placeholder strategy in the NEP, and inform red wolf recovery actions and conservation policy (Wildlife Management Institute, 2014). If red wolves and coyotes are distinct species with reproductive isolating mechanisms, and multiple red wolves remained following removal efforts, considerable levels of red wolf ancestry could persist in at least some individuals in the area
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