Superior National Forest wolf population trajectory
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By Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
June 26, 2018
When the wolf was listed as endangered, the last remaining mainland wolf population in the lower 48 states was in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota. Since then, using radiocollaring and aerial tracking, we have studied the wolf population trend, factors influencing it, and prey species, white-tailed deer, moose, and beavers, affected by wolves. During winter 2018-2019, we initiated a non-invasive winter wolf survey to determine if we could count resident wolves with reasonable precision using camera traps, genetics from scat and snow tracks, snow tracking, and citizen- scientist reports. During 2019, we commenced noninvasive summer research, along with international cooperators, studying wolf howling rates at their homesites compared across gradients of human impacts on landscapes. To interpret our wild howling results, we tested the efficacy of the recording device on captive wolves during spring 2019. Knowledge of changes in in this natural, protected wolf population provides insight valuable to State and Federal resource managers charged with managing recovered and recovering wolf populations.
Wolf noninvasive methods trial from 2019-2021 in the Superior National Forest metadata
This dataset contains gray wolf (Canis lupus) study area section counts of pack wolves by method (observing radiocollared wolves and their packmates via aerial telemetry and also noninvasive methods including ground snow tracking, aerial snow tracking, camera trapping, community scientist reports) from a three winter noninvasive methods trial during 2019-2021 in the USGS Wolf Project study area (2
Wolf survival and cause-specific mortality from 1968-2018 in the Superior National Forest. In
This dataset contains gray wolf (Canis lupus) survival and cause-specific mortality data from radiocollared wolves (n=756 collared-wolf tenures) from 1968-2018 in the USGS Wolf Project study area (2,060 km2) of the Superior National Forest, USA, an area that also includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Also, included are the annual resident winter wolf counts for the study area.
Wolf Hematology in the Superior National Forest, 1989-1993
Hematology and body mass were studied in nine female and five male free-ranging wolves in the Superior National Forest handled 4-17 times during 1989-1993. The dataset includes the following data for each wolf studied: wolf identifier, dates caught, sex, age, body mass in kg, adjusted body mass in kg, and values of hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), hematocr
Below are publications associated with this project.
Comparison of beaver density estimates from aerial surveys of waterways versus transects
Historic beaver-sign (Castor canadensis) survey flights were often conducted over waterways to maximize beaver detections. However, densities determined from strip transect surveys are more useful to compare across and within study areas than waterway indices based on observations per distance flown because transects are more representative of the wider landscape. Yet, it is unknown if, and to wha
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer
Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have recently been recommended for delisting, information on their southern populatio
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Daniel Ryan, David Grosshuesch, Timothy Catton, Sarah Malick-Wahls
An historical overview and update of wolf-moose interactions in northeastern Minnesota
Wolf (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces americanus) populations in northeastern Minnesota, USA, have fluctuated for decades and, based on helicopter counts, moose numbers declined to a new low from 2006 to about 2012. Other steep declines were found in 1991 and 1998 during periods when moose counts were done with ®xed-wing aircraft; these declines also appeared to be real. Winter wolf numbers, monitor
Authors
L. David Mech, John Fieberg, Shannon Barber-Meyer
Where can wolves live and how can we live with them?
In the contiguous 48 United States, southern Canada, and in Europe, wolves (Canis lupus) have greatly increased and expanded their range during the past few decades.They are prolific, disperse long distances, readily recolonize new areas where humans allow them, and are difficult to control when populations become established.Because wolves originally lived nearly everywhere throughout North Ameri
Authors
L. David Mech
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) death by stick impalement
Although Canis lupus L. (Gray Wolf) individuals are sometimes impaled by sticks, we could find no documentation of natural impalement by sticks as a cause of death for wild Wolves. Here we report on a wild Gray Wolf from northeastern Minnesota that died due to stick puncture of its thorax and abdomen.
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Lori Schmidt, L. David Mech
Use of erroneous wolf generation time in assessments of domestic dog and human evolution
Scientific interest in dog domestication and parallel evolution of dogs and humans (Wang et al. 2013) has increased recently (Freedman et al. 2014, Larson and Bradley 2014, Franz et al. 2016,), and various important conclusions have been drawn based on how long ago the calculations show dogs were domesticated from ancestral wolves (Canis lupus). Calculation of this duration is based on “the most c
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon Barber-Meyer
A serosurvey of diseases of free-ranging gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Minnesota
We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota's wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-six
Authors
Michelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. Edwards
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition?
Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the Moose decli
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech
Differential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey
Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (p<0.01). The SNF differe
Authors
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Wesley E. Newton, Bridget Borg
Wolf (Canis lupus) generation time and proportion of current breeding females by age
Information is sparse about aspects of female wolf (Canis lupus) breeding in the wild, including age of first reproduction, mean age of primiparity, generation time, and proportion of each age that breeds in any given year. We studied these subjects in 86 wolves (113 captures) in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota (MN), during 1972–2013 where wolves were legally protected for most of th
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, John Erb
The history of Patuxent: America’s wildlife research story
This report, based on a symposium held on October 13, 2011, at the National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD, documents the history of the Patuxent Research Refuge and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, collectively known as Patuxent. The symposium was one of the many activities occurring at that time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the
When the wolf was listed as endangered, the last remaining mainland wolf population in the lower 48 states was in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota. Since then, using radiocollaring and aerial tracking, we have studied the wolf population trend, factors influencing it, and prey species, white-tailed deer, moose, and beavers, affected by wolves. During winter 2018-2019, we initiated a non-invasive winter wolf survey to determine if we could count resident wolves with reasonable precision using camera traps, genetics from scat and snow tracks, snow tracking, and citizen- scientist reports. During 2019, we commenced noninvasive summer research, along with international cooperators, studying wolf howling rates at their homesites compared across gradients of human impacts on landscapes. To interpret our wild howling results, we tested the efficacy of the recording device on captive wolves during spring 2019. Knowledge of changes in in this natural, protected wolf population provides insight valuable to State and Federal resource managers charged with managing recovered and recovering wolf populations.
Wolf noninvasive methods trial from 2019-2021 in the Superior National Forest metadata
This dataset contains gray wolf (Canis lupus) study area section counts of pack wolves by method (observing radiocollared wolves and their packmates via aerial telemetry and also noninvasive methods including ground snow tracking, aerial snow tracking, camera trapping, community scientist reports) from a three winter noninvasive methods trial during 2019-2021 in the USGS Wolf Project study area (2
Wolf survival and cause-specific mortality from 1968-2018 in the Superior National Forest. In
This dataset contains gray wolf (Canis lupus) survival and cause-specific mortality data from radiocollared wolves (n=756 collared-wolf tenures) from 1968-2018 in the USGS Wolf Project study area (2,060 km2) of the Superior National Forest, USA, an area that also includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Also, included are the annual resident winter wolf counts for the study area.
Wolf Hematology in the Superior National Forest, 1989-1993
Hematology and body mass were studied in nine female and five male free-ranging wolves in the Superior National Forest handled 4-17 times during 1989-1993. The dataset includes the following data for each wolf studied: wolf identifier, dates caught, sex, age, body mass in kg, adjusted body mass in kg, and values of hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), hematocr
Below are publications associated with this project.
Comparison of beaver density estimates from aerial surveys of waterways versus transects
Historic beaver-sign (Castor canadensis) survey flights were often conducted over waterways to maximize beaver detections. However, densities determined from strip transect surveys are more useful to compare across and within study areas than waterway indices based on observations per distance flown because transects are more representative of the wider landscape. Yet, it is unknown if, and to wha
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer
Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have recently been recommended for delisting, information on their southern populatio
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Daniel Ryan, David Grosshuesch, Timothy Catton, Sarah Malick-Wahls
An historical overview and update of wolf-moose interactions in northeastern Minnesota
Wolf (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces americanus) populations in northeastern Minnesota, USA, have fluctuated for decades and, based on helicopter counts, moose numbers declined to a new low from 2006 to about 2012. Other steep declines were found in 1991 and 1998 during periods when moose counts were done with ®xed-wing aircraft; these declines also appeared to be real. Winter wolf numbers, monitor
Authors
L. David Mech, John Fieberg, Shannon Barber-Meyer
Where can wolves live and how can we live with them?
In the contiguous 48 United States, southern Canada, and in Europe, wolves (Canis lupus) have greatly increased and expanded their range during the past few decades.They are prolific, disperse long distances, readily recolonize new areas where humans allow them, and are difficult to control when populations become established.Because wolves originally lived nearly everywhere throughout North Ameri
Authors
L. David Mech
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) death by stick impalement
Although Canis lupus L. (Gray Wolf) individuals are sometimes impaled by sticks, we could find no documentation of natural impalement by sticks as a cause of death for wild Wolves. Here we report on a wild Gray Wolf from northeastern Minnesota that died due to stick puncture of its thorax and abdomen.
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Lori Schmidt, L. David Mech
Use of erroneous wolf generation time in assessments of domestic dog and human evolution
Scientific interest in dog domestication and parallel evolution of dogs and humans (Wang et al. 2013) has increased recently (Freedman et al. 2014, Larson and Bradley 2014, Franz et al. 2016,), and various important conclusions have been drawn based on how long ago the calculations show dogs were domesticated from ancestral wolves (Canis lupus). Calculation of this duration is based on “the most c
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon Barber-Meyer
A serosurvey of diseases of free-ranging gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Minnesota
We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota's wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-six
Authors
Michelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. Edwards
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition?
Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the Moose decli
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech
Differential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey
Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (p<0.01). The SNF differe
Authors
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Wesley E. Newton, Bridget Borg
Wolf (Canis lupus) generation time and proportion of current breeding females by age
Information is sparse about aspects of female wolf (Canis lupus) breeding in the wild, including age of first reproduction, mean age of primiparity, generation time, and proportion of each age that breeds in any given year. We studied these subjects in 86 wolves (113 captures) in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota (MN), during 1972–2013 where wolves were legally protected for most of th
Authors
L. David Mech, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, John Erb
The history of Patuxent: America’s wildlife research story
This report, based on a symposium held on October 13, 2011, at the National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD, documents the history of the Patuxent Research Refuge and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, collectively known as Patuxent. The symposium was one of the many activities occurring at that time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the