European Wolves

[Ngala]

2 - KARELIAN POPULATION

"The Karelian wolf population is shared between Finland and Russia and consists of 220–245 animals (Natural Resources Institute Finland, 2015). Clear signs of genetic bottlenecks have also been observed in the allele frequency distributions of this population (Jansson et al., 2014). Genetic structure and population processes, including admixture between wolves in the Finnish and Russian parts of the population have been investigated using microsatellites (Aspi et al., 2006, 2009; Jansson et al., 2012). Population size reduction together with the low level of gene flow from the Russian Karelian population (Aspi et al., 2006, 2009) led the Finnish Karelian part of the population into a demographic and genetic crash after 2006, with a significant decline in observed heterozygosity and an increase in inbreeding (Jansson et al., 2012). Compared to the historical Finnish wolf population, almost 20% of microsatellite alleles have not been found in the modern population (Jansson et al., 2014). Although the Karelian wolf population (including Russia) is often seen as a single large management unit, it may consist of smaller units (Aspi et al., 2009; Jansson et al., 2012)."

The main threats
"The primary threat to Finnish wolves is illegal killing. The current (Finnish) Karelian population is not only small in size, but also significantly more inbred than previously, and the observed heterozygosity is significantly lower than among wolves born at the end of the 1990s (Jansson et al., 2012).Additonally, gene flow between Russian Karelian and Finnish populations seems to be low (Aspi et al., 2009; Jansson et al.,2012). In order to maintain a genetically healthy and viable wolf population in the long term, the ultimate management goal is to facilitate gene flow between Finnish and Russian parts of the Karelian population (Jansson et al., 2014) and to decrease the hunting pressure. This goal is especially difficult to achieve in the reindeer husbandry area, which is very large (approximately half of Finland), where wolves are eliminated or driven away within days of arrival. The wolf became protected in Finland outside the reindeer husbandry area in 1973, but until 1995 it was listed as a normal game species, and the population was controlled by hunting (Bisi et al., 2007). Following EU membership in 1995, Finland had to tighten its own legislation concerning the conservation status of the wolf. According to the EC Habitats Directive the wolf is listed in Appendix IV (strictly protected) with an exception in the Finnish reindeer herding area, where the wolf is listed in Appendix V (hunting is possible). The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry annually grants a restricted number of licenses to kill wolves. The number of animals killed per year (including animals killed in car accidents) has ranged between 5 and 27 during 2000–2005 (Bisi et al., 2007). The Management Plan of the Wolf Population Finland in 2005 (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 11b/2005) recommended that Finland should have at least 20 breeding pairs. However, this goal was achieved (during the period 2005–2014) only in 2006, when there were 25 breeding pairs in Finland. A new management plan for wolves was accepted in Finland in 2015 and ‘population management’ hunting was part of this new plan. Accordingly, the Finnish Wildlife Agency licensed the hunting of 24 wolves in 2015 and an additional 10 wolves can be killed per year in cases of damage or close encounters. The rationale for ‘population management’ hunting has been hotly debated in Finland."

Source: 
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

Wolf from Finland. Credits to Villmarksfotografen Fotograf Tommy Solberg.

*This image is copyright of its original author

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