Month: May 2019

Wolf at the door in the Altun Mountains | Borneo Bulletin Online

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URUMQI (Xinhua) – A wolf is at the door, literally, at a railway construction site in the Altun Mountains, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The animal was first spotted sitting on a slope some 500 metres away from the construction site in the autumn of 2018.“Some of us were shivering with fear at the sight of it. We didn’t dare move for a while, and then we started to back away very slowly,” said Zhang Shaoshuai, a worker with China Railway Tunnel Group.

Source: Wolf at the door in the Altun Mountains | Borneo Bulletin Online

Loup : le gouvernement propose de prélever jusqu’à 19 % de la population

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Le ministère de la Transition écologique soumet à la consultation du public jusqu’au 19 juin prochain un projet d’arrêté qui renforce les possibilités de régulation du loup. Ce texte modifie les conditions de prélèvement de l’espèce, pourtant strictement protégée par la Convention de Berne et la directive Habitats, et augmente le taux de prélèvement autorisé de 10 à 19 % pour 2019.

Dès le mois de décembre 2018, l’Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) estimait probable que la population des loups dépasse 500 individus en sortie d’hiver. L’établissement public doit confirmer l’atteinte de ce seuil d’ici quelques jours. Le gouvernement s’était fixé comme objectif d’atteindre ce seuil, défini comme un seuil de viabilité de la population, en 2023. Or, il avait annoncé qu’une fois cet objectif atteint, le dispositif de gestion de l’espèce serait réexaminé.

Source: Actu-Environnement

Genomic signatures of extensive inbreeding in Isle Royale wolves, a population on the threshold of extinction | Science Advances

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The observation that small isolated populations often suffer reduced fitness from inbreeding depression has guided conservation theory and practice for decades. However, investigating the genome-wide dynamics associated with inbreeding depression in natural populations is only now feasible with relatively inexpensive sequencing technology and annotated reference genomes. To characterize the genome-wide effects of intense inbreeding and isolation, we performed whole-genome sequencing and morphological analysis of an iconic inbred population, the gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) of Isle Royale. Through population genetic simulations and comparison with wolf genomes from a variety of demographic histories, we find evidence that severe inbreeding depression in this population is due to increased homozygosity of strongly deleterious recessive mutations. Our results have particular relevance in light of the recent translocation of wolves from the mainland to Isle Royale, as well as broader implications for management of genetic variation in the fragmented landscape of the modern world.

Source: Genomic signatures of extensive inbreeding in Isle Royale wolves, a population on the threshold of extinction | Science Advances

Genomics of Isle Royale wolves reveal impacts of inbreeding

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A new paper explores the genetic signatures of a pair of wolves isolated on Isle Royale, a remote national park in Lake Superior. The pair are father-daughter and share the same mother. Such close inbreeding leads to genetic anomalies, which likely are the main driver behind the wolf population crash over the past decade.

Source: Genomics of Isle Royale wolves reveal impacts of inbreeding

New Isle Royale black wolf found dead in middle of swamp – mlive.com

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ISLE ROYALE, MI – A wolf that was net-trapped in Canada in late February and relocated to Michigan’s Isle Royale was found dead recently in the middle of a large swamp area in the island’s Siskiwit Bay, the National Park Service said.The death of this black male wolf from Ontario is the second on-island death of a wolf involved in the long-term relocation effort being overseen by the NPS. Its goal is to boost the number of predators on the remote wilderness island that is now teeming with moose. They hope to introduce up to 30 new wolves onto Isle Royale in the next few years.

Source: New Isle Royale black wolf found dead in middle of swamp – mlive.com

Ecologistas en Acción denuncia la persecución del lobo en Picos de Europa por cazadores y ganaderos

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Ecologistas en Acción ha denunciado la actual persecución del lobo ibérico en el Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa por parte de cazadores y ganaderos y plantea un conjunto de propuestas para favorecer la coexistencia de la especie con esas actividades. La ONG ha publicado el informe ‘Análisis y propuestas sobre el lobo en el Parque Nacional De los Picos de Europa. Propuestas para vivir en la biodiversidad’, que ha realizado en el marco del proyecto ‘Vivir con lobos’ que desarrolla desde hace tres años con ganaderos de las zonas loberas. El estudio denuncia el lobo es objetivo de varios intereses encontrados en el Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa y se refiere en particular a los ganaderos y al sector cinegético y lamenta que los intereses de estos sectores “siguen prevaleciendo” sobre el interérs general de conservación de los hábitats y especies que debería predominar en un parque nacional.

Source: Ecologistas en Acción denuncia la persecución del lobo en Picos de Europa por cazadores y ganaderos