Europe

Once nearly eradicated from Europe, grey wolves (Canis lupus) have recently undergone a remarkable demographic recovery, but their long-term survival remains precarious. By analyzing 1,001 genomes, we uncover a mosaic of distinct evolutionary lineages, not a single recovering population. Northern populations exhibit Asian wolf ancestry, while southern populations preserve ancient Holocene lineages, with dog introgression varying by region. Isolated wolves from the Scandinavian, Italian, and Iberian peninsulas harbored particularly high levels of inbreeding and fixed deleterious mutations. Signatures of genome erosion were widespread across Europe, with many populations falling well short of the minimum size recommended for long-term survival. Our study reveals the complex tapestry of wolf ancestry and variation across Europe, which calls for nuanced, regional conservation plans founded in genetic monitoring.

Abstract

The recovery of wolves (Canis lupus) across Europe is a notable conservation success in a region with extensive human alteration of landscapes and high human population densities. We provide a comprehensive update on wolf populations in Europe, estimated at over 21,500 individuals by 2022, representing a 58% increase over the past decade. Despite the challenges of high human densities and significant land use for agriculture, industry, and urbanization, wolves have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and increasing population trends in most European countries. Improved monitoring techniques, although varying in quality and scope, have played a crucial role in tracking this recovery. Annually, wolves kill approximately 56,000 domestic animals in the EU, a risk unevenly distributed and differently handled across regions. Damage compensation costs 17 million EUR every year to European countries. Positive economic impacts from wolf presence, such as those related to reducing traffic accidents with wild ungulates or supporting wildlife tourism, remain under studied. Wolf recovery in Europe is supported by diverse policy and legal instruments such as LIFE programs, stakeholder platforms, as well as the EU Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention. Coexisting with newly established wolf populations in Europe entails managing impacts on human activities, including livestock depredation, competition for game, and fear of attacks on humans, amidst varying social and political views on wolf recovery. Sustainable coexistence continues to operate in evolving and complex social, economic, and political landscapes, often characterized by intense debates regarding wolf policies.

bstract
Anthropogenic hybridisation, especially when introgressive through backcrossing into parental species, is a global threat to many wild taxa, including wolves (Canis lupus) interbreeding with dogs (C. familiaris or C. l. familiaris) (i.e., wolf-dog hybridisation, WDH). Despite the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention’s recently approved proposal to reduce the protection status of wolves from Appendix II to Appendix III, the assessment of Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) for wolves within the EU Habitats Directive does not consider anthropogenic hybridisation as a separate threat category. Hybrids being increasingly recognised as a relevant threat to European wolves, we advocate that WDH should be considered in assessing their conservation status. However, the lack of a clear and commonly accepted definition of wolf-dog hybrids has been limiting progress on legislation, policy, and conservation management. Therefore, to help mitigate the threat of WDH to wolves, we hereby propose a science-based definition of wolf-dog hybrids as a reference for conservation management. The definition is not intended to prescribe management, which will require case-by-case consideration of various factors including local regulations, conservation priorities, ethics, animal welfare, and human dimensions. It (1) provides an entity for legal and policy efforts, (2) promotes shared and transparent technical standards for hybrid identification, and (3) acknowledges the need for nuanced, population-based management policies. The definition provides an essential first step and an international reference that we envision will help mitigate the threat of WDH to wolves and preserve wolf ecological function.

Abstract
Although wild and domestic carnivores share some haemotropic Mycoplasma species, information about the circulation of this pathogen in grey wolves (Canis lupus) populations is still very limited. Thus, a geographically broad-based investigation was performed for determining the occurrence and diversity of Mycoplasma spp. in three different wolf populations from southern Europe. Between 2001 and 2023, spleen samples from 285 grey wolves from Spain (n = 129), Italy (n = 113), and Portugal (n = 43) were collected. The presence of haemotropic Mycoplasma was assessed targeting the 16S rRNA gene using two PCR assays in parallel; in addition, the 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer was analysed for further identification of the positive samples. The influence of the sampling country, sex, and age of the animals on the prevalence of Mycoplasma spp. was also assessed by a generalized linear model analysis. The percentage of positive wolves was 13.3 % (38/285), and the occurrence was significantly higher in Spain (20.9 %) than in Italy (8.0 %) and Portugal (4.7 %). Mycoplasma haemocanis (10.5 %) and Candidatus M. haematoparvum (2.1 %), were identified; in addition, an uncultured Mycoplasma sp. was also detected (0.7 %). Our results confirm the circulation of potentially zoonotic Mycoplasma in wolf populations from southern Europe. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Ca. M. haematoparvum in wolves from Italy and Portugal. In addition, a Mycoplasma sp., previously found in dogs, has been detected for the first time in wolves. Further studies are needed to fully molecularly characterise haemotropic Mycoplasma spp., which will serve as a basis for the study of its ecoepidemiology.

Abstract

In Europe, the gray wolf and Eurasian lynx populations are recovering after various levels of persecution. The two species differ in their social structure and spatial patterns of aggregation. Using model selection, we investigated the consistency of the available time series data on local wolf and lynx sub-populations with a number of single-species population growth models that pertain to two types of intraspecific competition, namely, scramble (SC) and contest competition (CC), and reflect random (R) or aggregated (A) distribution of individuals. The applied models of population growth—the Ricker (SCR), Skellam (CCR), Hassell (SCA), and Beverton–Holt (CCA) models—were all parameterized in terms of intrinsic growth rate and carrying capacity with unified definitions. The projected carrying capacity was allowed to show a temporal trend, which was justified by an observed increase in prey abundance in recent decades. For both species, the models pertaining to contest competition outperformed the scramble competition models, and the Beverton–Holt model had the greatest weight. However, for the lynx, the difference of performance between the scramble and contest competition models was considerably smaller than that for the wolves. In most of the models, when it was meaningful, an optional time lag operator was added to account for a delay in individual maturity and reproduction. However, the models with a time lag had a worse fit than the models without it. This study promotes the application of population models that reflect intraspecific competition for modeling population dynamics in a single- or multi-species framework.

complete conservation target. We argue that this image originates in northern latitudes where cultural models of wildness have developed further due to contingent historical and social reasons. In southern European ecosystems apex predators usually cannot regulate prey populations, acting as scavengers or vegetarian. As a consequence, prey are often regulated by bottom-up mechanisms, such as density-dependent disease or food availability. This should not be seen as a downgrading of predator functionality in ecosystems, but just as another type of ecosystem organization. Actually, the species that we now call apex predators were part of much richer predator communities in the Pleistocene, where they behaved as mesopredators (wolf) or already had vegetarian diets (southern brown bear). Species functionality shows spatiotemporal heterogeneity, and this variability needs to be taken into account and incorporated to conservation plans on a case by case basis, to improve their success rates and human-wildlife coexistence.

Aim

The recent recovery of large carnivores in Europe has been explained as resulting from a decrease in human persecution driven by widespread rural land abandonment, paralleled by forest cover increase and the consequent increase in availability of shelter and prey. We investigated whether land cover and human population density changes are related to the relative probability of occurrence of three European large carnivores: the grey wolf (Canis lupus), the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and the brown bear (Ursus arctos).

Location

Europe, west of 64° longitude.

Methods

We fitted multi‐temporal species distribution models using >50,000 occurrence points with time series of land cover, landscape configuration, protected areas, hunting regulations and human population density covering a 24‐year period (1992–2015). Within the temporal window considered, we then predicted changes in habitat suitability for large carnivores throughout Europe.

Results

Between 1992 and 2015, the habitat suitability for the three species increased in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, North‐West Iberian Peninsula and Northern Scandinavia, but showed mixed trends in Western and Southern Europe. These trends were primarily associated with increases in forest cover and decreases in human population density, and, additionally, with decreases in the cover of mosaics of cropland and natural vegetation.

Main conclusions

Recent land cover and human population changes appear to have altered the habitat suitability pattern for large carnivores in Europe, whereas protection level did not play a role. While projected changes largely match the observed recovery of large carnivore populations, we found mismatches with the recent expansion of wolves in Central and Southern Europe, where factors not included in our models may have played a dominant role. This suggests that large carnivores’ co‐existence with humans in European landscapes is not limited by habitat availability, but other factors such as favourable human tolerance and policy.