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Journal Publications
Carmichael L.E., J. Krizan, J. A. Nagy, M. Dumond, D.
Johnson, A. Veitch, C. Strobeck. 2007. Northwest passages: conservation
genetics of Arctic Island wolves.
Abstract
Wolves in the Canadian Arctic
Archipelago face several challenges to persistence: a harsh habitat, an
unstable prey base, and potentially significant anthropogenic influences.
These external factors, if combined with genetic constraints common to
island populations, could be particularly difficult to withstand. To
determine the genetic status of Arctic Island wolves, we used 14
microsatellite loci to estimate population variation and the extent of
interisland and island-mainland gene flow. All island populations were
significantly less variable than mainland wolves; although inbreeding is
currently insignificant, the two least variable populations, Banks and the
High Arctic (Ellesmere and Devon Islands), showed genetic signatures of
recent population declines. Recovery after a bottleneck appears to result,
in large part, via recolonization from other islands. These
extinction-recolonization dynamics, and the degree of similarity among
island wolves revealed by Bayesian clustering, suggest that Arctic Island
wolves function as a metapopulation. Persistence of the metapopulation may
be supported by periodic migration from mainland populations, occurring
primarily through two corridors: Baffin Island in the Eastern Arctic, and
Victoria Island in the Western Arctic. This gene flow could be compromised
or eliminated by loss—due to climatic warming or increased human activity—of
sea ice in the Northwest Passage.
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