Dispersal Behavior and the Connectivity Between Wolf Populations in Northern Europe

The isolated gray wolf (Canis lupus) population of the Scandinavian Peninsular is suffering from inbreeding depression. We studied dispersal of 35 wolves fitted with very high frequency (20) or Global Positioning System-global system for mobile (15) radiocollars in the neighboring Finnish wolf popul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of wildlife management 2009-04, Vol.73 (3), p.309-313
Main Authors: Kojola, Ilpo, Kaartinen, Salla, Hakala, Antero, Heikkinen, Samuli, Voipio, Hanna-Marja
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agroforestry
Animal populations
barrier
boreal forests
Canis lupus
coniferous forests
connectivity
Dispersal
dispersal behavior
distance
Fisheries management
Fisheries science
Genetic engineering
Global positioning systems
GPS
Ice
Inbreeding
Lupus
Mammals
management
Management and Conservation
mortality
Population
Population ecology
Population genetics
Provincial government
Rangifer tarandus
Reindeer
Research facilities
seasonality
travel route
Wildlife management
wolf
Wolves
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Summary:The isolated gray wolf (Canis lupus) population of the Scandinavian Peninsular is suffering from inbreeding depression. We studied dispersal of 35 wolves fitted with very high frequency (20) or Global Positioning System-global system for mobile (15) radiocollars in the neighboring Finnish wolf population. The growing wolf population in Finland has high numbers of dispersing individuals that could potentially disperse into the Scandinavian population. About half (53%) of the dispersing wolves moved total distances that could have reached the Scandinavian population if they had been straight-line moves, but because of the irregular pattern of movements, we detected no wolves successfully dispersing to the Scandinavian population. Dispersal to the Scandinavian population was also limited by high mortality of wolves in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) management areas and by dispersal to Bothnian Bay at times of the year when ice was not present. We suggest that when a small wolf population is separated from source populations by distance, barriers, and human exploitation, wildlife managers could promote the population's viability by limiting harvest in the peripheral areas or by introducing wolves from the source population.
ISSN:0022-541X
1937-2817
DOI:10.2193/2007-539