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Wolf Pack Dynamics (Preliminaries)

Wolf Pack Dynamics (Preliminaries). Virginia Stoll Wm. D. Stone. A Mexican Lobo. The ‘Lobo’. Smallest subspecies of North American Gray Wolf 50 – 80 pounds ~30 inches at the shoulder Original range much of Mexico, NM, AZ. History. Almost extinct by mid-20 th century

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Wolf Pack Dynamics (Preliminaries)

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  1. Wolf Pack Dynamics(Preliminaries) Virginia Stoll Wm. D. Stone

  2. A Mexican Lobo

  3. The ‘Lobo’ • Smallest subspecies of North American Gray Wolf • 50 – 80 pounds • ~30 inches at the shoulder • Original range much of Mexico, NM, AZ

  4. History • Almost extinct by mid-20th century • Listed as endangered 1976 • Recovery effort started 1977 • Small population captured in Mexico • Two small captive populations • 7 founders.

  5. Wolf Packs • Basic unit of population – the pack • One alpha pair • Normally the only breeders • Young adults • Help hunt and baby-sit • Pups

  6. Formation of new packs • Young adults can leave the pack – become ‘lone wolves’ • New packs can be formed by a pair of lone wolves joining up • Very large packs can split • Death of one of the alpha pair can cause pack to split

  7. Pack size • Prey • Size • Mostly elk • Availability • Lots of elk • Scavengers • Ravens • Can eat 2 lbs. of meat per day each

  8. Population Pressures • In the New Mexico re-established wolf population, two largest sources of adult mortality are • Cars • Illegal shooting

  9. Natural Mortality • Food pressure mostly affects survival of pups to weaning • Inter-pack battles can be a significant cause of death

  10. Genetics • Starting with tracking one locus, with one marked gene in a single individual • Probability of duplicate copies in an individual • (comparative only)

  11. Input from Federal Wolf Biologists • New Mexico packs rarely are larger than a breeding pair plus pups • Subspecies difference? • Growth stage vs. steady state? • So far, little food or territory pressure

  12. Genetics • US Fish & Wildlife has full genetic profiles of every wolf they have handled • Very small number of founders • Selective breeding for genetic diversity • They hope our model can help

  13. Model Results

  14. Female with pups

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