European Wolves

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This is a thread dedicate to the European wolves. Share photos, videos, data and all information about these wolves.

There are many works on genetic and studies on population about the wolves in Europe, so i tried to take the most useful information from the various studies, to make a description below.

GENETIC DIFFERENCES AND TAXONOMIC NOTES
Based on the microsatellites markers, in Europe we can recognizable ten different populations of wolves (Chapron et al., 2014; Hindrikson et al., 2016):

1 - Scandinavian population 
2 - Karelian population 
3 - Baltic population 
4 - Central European Lowland population
5 - Italian peninsular population 
6 - Alpine population 
7 - Carpathian population 
8 - Dinaric-Balkan population 
9 - North-west Iberian population 
10 - Sierra-Morena population

The two populations from Italy, we can consider a one, composed by two subpopulations (Alpine and Apennine); the same for the Iberian Peninsula (North-West Iberia and Sierra-Morena).

The Italian wolf, named Canis lupus italicus, described by Altobello in 1900, is genetically separated from other wolves in Europe (Nowak & Federoff, 2002). The same applies for the Iberian wolf, named Canis lupus signatus, described by Cabrera in 1907 (Ramírez et al., 2006). This separation is supported also by Ersmark et al., 2016, after the DNA analysis based on haplotypes. He says:

"In Eurasian wolves, there are few decisive signs of population structure shaped by glacial refugia during the LGM, something which has been suggested for other mammals (Taberlet and Bouvet, 1994; Stewart et al., 2010). One example is the Italian wolf population, which is clearly distinct, and positioned close to the ancient wolves in the phylogeny. Other studies have estimated that this population was in fact isolated for thousands of generations in the Italian Peninsula (Lucchini et al., 2004). Interestingly, genomic data from a recent study revealed genetic distinctiveness in wolves from both from the Italian and the Iberian peninsulas, explaining it as a result of isolation during the LGM (vonHoldt et al., 2011)."

The other populations are attributable to the nominal subspecies, Canis lupus lupus (Linnaeus, 1758).

DISTRIBUTION
From Hindrikson et al., 2016:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Fig. 1. Wolf distribution and directions of gene flow in Europe. Green indicates wolf permanent occurrence, and dark grey sporadic occurrence (modified from Chapron et al., 2014). Wolf occurrence in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus is not marked on the map. Confirmed dispersal between and within wolf populations is indicated by red arrows (numbers correspond to those given in Appendix S2).

According to Hindrikson et al., 2016:
THE MAIN THREATS TO WOLF POPULATIONS IN EUROPE
Europe in general
"Common threats to almost all wolf populations in Europe are overharvesting (including poaching), low public acceptance and conflicts due to livestock depredation (Table 4; Fig. 8), resulting most likely from a lack of knowledge and poor management structure, but also from livestock damage and deep fears of wolf attacks on humans and dogs. Interactions with domestic dogs leading to disease transfer and/or hybridization have also generated concern (Leonard et al., 2014). However, other threats, such as habitat destruction and large fluctuations in prey base, are also relevant to the majority of populations. Thus, various human-related factors are undoubtedly the main source of threats to wolf populations in Europe, and the generally negative human attitude toward wolves has been and remains the primary threat to wolf populations. Historically, even infectious diseases (e.g. rabies, sarcoptic mange) have not had such a devastating impact on wolf numbers as negative human attitudes, resulting in severe hunting pressure (legal and illegal), which inmany areas in Europe led to wolf eradication in the past and continues to threaten small endangered populations (e.g. in Sierra Morena).

Hunting, as well as other direct anthropogenic threats can have genetic consequences (Allendorf et al., 2008), especially for social species such as the wolf (e.g. Creel & Rotella, 2010; Ausband et al., 2015).

The most significant consequence is restriction to gene flow that can result in considerable genetic drift and inbreeding. Severe reduction or loss of population connectivity inside and among European wolf populations is the most challenging factor that requires strong measures, especially in areas where hunting pressure on wolves has been strong for some time (Kaczensky et al., 2013; Jansson et al., 2014; Chapron & Treves, 2016; Plumer et al., 2016). Wolf–dog hybridization is the second most common genetic-related threat in the majority of European wolf populations (Table 4). Hybridization has been shown to increase under strong anthropogenic pressure, especially at the population periphery and in areas with high human-caused mortality (Andersone et al., 2002; Vil`a et al., 2003b; Godinho et al., 2011; Hindrikson et al., 2012; Leonard et al., 2014). Another factor that can play an important role in wolf–dog hybridization is the disruption of social structure due to high hunting pressure (Valdmann et al., 2004; J ¸edrzejewski et al., 2005), that can potentialy increase the risk of hybridization. Moreover, introgression (following hybridization) can bring selective genetic changes by introducing maladapted genes into wild populations (Leonard et al., 2014).

Large carnivores can coexist with humans if a favourable management policy is applied (Linnell, Salvatori & Boitani, 2008; Treves et al., 2016), but their role as apex predators is reduced if they do not reach ecological functionality (Estes et al., 2011; Ordiz et al., 2013, and references therein). Nevertheless, there is a pressing need to mitigate conflicts in ways that are both effective and acceptable (Sillero-Zubiri & Laurenson, 2001).Two large international legislation systems currently direct wolfmanagement in Europe: the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the Bern Convention), and Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Habitats Directive; Trouwborst, 2010). Although these international agreements seek to standardize conservation actions across Europe, both the Bern Convention and the Habitats Directive have allowed countries to make national or local modifications to the status of wolves. However, the conservation actions taken to date have apparently not been sufficient to protect all wolf populations under threat, e.g. in the case of wolf populations in Sierra Morena (see Section V.2i).

To handle the threats and conservation/management issues in European wolf populations in a systematic manner, we first identify the main gaps in current knowledge and suggest solutions to overcome these limitations and then provide suggestions for efficient science-based wolf conservation and management in Europe."

Principal studies that i have consulted:
Hindrikson, M., Remm, J., Pilot, M., Godinho, R., Stronen, A. V., Baltrūnaité, L., Czarnomska, S. D., Leonard, J. A., Randi, E., Nowak, C., Åkesson, M., López-Bao, J. V., Álvares, F., Llaneza, L., Echegaray, J., Vilà, C., Ozolins, J., Rungis, D., Aspi, J., Paule, L., Skrbinšek, T. and Saarma, U. (2016), Wolf population genetics in Europe: a systematic review, meta-analysis and suggestions for conservation and management. Biol Rev. doi:10.1111/brv.12298

Ersmark, Erik; Klütsch, Cornelya F. C.; Chan, Yvonne L.; Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S.; Fain, Steven R.; Illarionova, Natalia A.; Oskarsson, Mattias; Uhlén, Mathias; Zhang, Ya-Ping; Dalén, Love; Savolainen, Peter (2016). "From the Past to the Present: Wolf Phylogeography and Demographic History Based on the Mitochondrial Control Region". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 4. doi:10.3389/fevo.2016.00134

Chapron G, Kaczensky P, Linnell JDC, von Arx M, Huber D, Andrén H. 2014 Recovery of large carnivores in Europe's modern human-dominated landscapes. Science 346, 1517–1519. doi:10.1126/science.1257553

Stronen AV, Jędrzejewska B, Pertoldi C, Demontis D, Randi E, Niedziałkowska M, et al. (2013) North-South Differentiation and a Region of High Diversity in European Wolves (Canis lupus). PLoS ONE 8(10): e76454. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076454

Pilot, M. G.; Branicki, W.; Jędrzejewski, W. O.; Goszczyński, J.; Jędrzejewska, B. A.; Dykyy, I.; Shkvyrya, M.; Tsingarska, E. (2010). "Phylogeographic history of grey wolves in Europe". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10: 104. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-104 Reply