Leonard Jennifer A, Wayne Robert K
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Biol Lett. 2008 Feb 23;4(1):95-8. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0354.
Wolves from the Great Lakes area were historically decimated due to habitat loss and predator control programmes. Under the protection of the US Endangered Species Act, the population has rebounded to approximately 3000 individuals. We show that the pre-recovery population was dominated by mitochondrial DNA haplotypes from an endemic American wolf referred to here as the Great Lakes wolf. In contrast, the recent population is admixed, and probably derives also from the grey wolf (Canis lupus) of Old World origin and the coyote (Canis latrans). Consequently, the pre-recovery population has not been restored, casting doubt on delisting actions.
历史上，由于栖息地丧失和捕食者控制计划，五大湖地区的狼数量大幅减少。在美国《濒危物种法》的保护下，其数量已反弹至约3000只。我们发现，恢复前的种群主要由一种美国本土狼的线粒体DNA单倍型主导，这里称其为五大湖狼。相比之下，最近的种群是混合的，可能还源自旧世界的灰狼（Canis lupus）和郊狼（Canis latrans）。因此，恢复前的种群并未得到恢复，这使得除名行动受到质疑。
