Population genetic structure, diversity, and hybridization in the Minnesota wolf population
ABSTRACT
The demographic, social, and genetic effects of harvest-based management practices are not fully
understood, especially in social carnivore species. Minnesota was one of several states that instituted a
public hunting and trapping season to manage gray wolves (Canis lupus) following the delisting of
wolves from the Endangered Species Act in 2012. Hunters and trappers harvested 413 wolves in
Minnesota in 2012, about 20% of the estimated population size and 3 times the average number of
wolves removed under depredation control in recent years. Using tissue from wolves harvested during
the 2012 and 2013 wolf seasons in Minnesota, I assessed the population genetic consequences of this
increase in anthropogenic mortality to determine if it led to changes in population genetic structure and
diversity in the first post-harvest year. I also sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
control region to assess the extent of gray wolf-eastern wolf (C. lycaon) and gray wolf-coyote (C. latrans)
hybrid ancestry in Minnesota wolves. I found no significant difference in genetic diversity indices
between years; however, population genetic structure and effective gene flow among the sampled
wolves changed from 2012 to 2013. These analyses provide a baseline to determine if such year-to-year
variation in structure is normal for Minnesota wolves and how changes in genetic structure positively or
negatively impact wolf populations. Baseline population genetic analysis at the beginning of managed
harvest enabled my analysis of immediate genetic responses to harvest, and will allow for comparisons
with the population genetic structure of historical and future wolf populations in Minnesota.