Climate Change and the Great Lakes Gray Wolf

Animal Bio 171 E.C

Shauna Holmes

Question

Does climate change have an affect on Great Lakes Gray Wolf?

Hypothesis

Great Lakes Gray Wolf Is Migrating further due to climate change.

Prediction

If climate change is changing rapidly, then the Great Lakes Gray Wolf is migrating further.

Great Lakes Gray Wolf (GLG Wolf)

Canis lupis (Gray Wolf) Mainly lives in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and

Michigan Food: Moose, white tail deer, snowshoe hare

Figure 1: http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/policy/great.lakes.gray.wolf.pdf

•Gray area, general GLG wolf’s territory

•Black outline, Broad range of GLG wolf

Migration

Stays with pack until adulthood Leaves pack for its own territory Looks for good food source Finds area for breeding where available Most likely to travel up to 50 miles

Records of traveling up to 1000 miles

Evidence of Unusual Migration Two articles about GLG wolves found in Kansas 2013- Pratt, Kansas confirmed killing of full

blooded GLG wolf Hunters describe as “too big to be coyote”

Two other reports of wolves in KS 1905 (only one confirmed by Mike Miller of Kansas

Department of Wildlife and Parks, Records stated to be possibly inaccurate )

1938/1939 (unconfirmed date, only source from NBC article)

http://www.pratttribune.com/article/20130209/News/130209077/?Start=2

http://cjonline.com/news/2013-01-29/test-confirms-wolf-killed-kansas-last-month

Approx. Travel Distance•Red Circle: General area for GLG wolves to live

•Arrow points to Pratt, Kansas (last sighting/killing of GLG wolf

•From Ottawa NF (about center of territory) about 1050 miles “as the crow flies”

Figure 2: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_map_-_states-ca.png

Migration in Early Records (1905)

1800’s and early 1900’s GLG wolf was recorded being in lower MN, WI, and MI

Settlers moved in Unregulated hunting Intentional extermination Severely cut food source

Not proven, but a good point for migration Connection to climate change unknown

Migration for Early Records (1938/1939)

•Severe drops in Lake Superior Water levels

•1st drop in 1926, 12 years before Kansas spotting

•2nd drop 2006, 7 years before Kansas killing

•Though drop wasn’t in same year, it could take time for drop in water level to effect wolves

Figure 3: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakesuperior/lake-superior-climate-change-impacts-report-201401.pdf

Migration for Early Records (1938/1939) Con’t Cant be proven that water level directly effected

GLG wolf Low water levels mean severe drought Water dropped 1.5ft at times of worst spike Drought could have driven wolf’s food source

away, causing migration further for food Warmer temperatures and changes in

precipitation are expected to alter forests in Lake Superior region

http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakesuperior/lake-superior-climate-change-impacts-report-201401.pdf

Climate Change’s Effect on Prey

Primary food source Moose White tail deer

Will focus on MN (best information found) Data collected from radio interview with James

Forester (Assistant Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota)

, http://www.accessminnesotaonline.com/2014/07/09/saving-minnesotas-vanishing-moose/

White Tail Deer

Climate change has caused deer to migrate north, into moose territoryCompete for food

Deer are known to carry worm parasite: Parelaphostrongylus tenuis

Deer are normal carriers of P. tenuis Able to pass parasite no issues

Figure 4: http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/536/flashcards/108536/jpg/picture51352403256153.jpg

•The parasite will then lay eggs in blood stream

• Which enter the lungs

•To mouth then swallowed

•Passed through waste that will in turn fertilize new plants

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parelaphostrongylus_tenuis

P. tenuis Effect on Moose

Deer move into moose territory, expose moose to P. tenuis

Moose eat slug, or plant fertilized from deer waste

Parasite does not pass Ends up in brain and burrows causing severe

side effects Will eventually cause death

Climate Change Effect for P. tenuis

Short, mild winters favor the growth of deer populations in moose habitat

Wetter conditions and longer snow-free periods enhance the opportunity for parasite transition from deer to moose

Moose Disappearing

1990’s were about 4000 moose in western part of MN now is only about 100 About 6% of moose die a year In 25-30 years, there will be less than 1000 moose in the

state at that rate. Moose dying off means food source for wolves

drastically changes Wolves not believed to be apart of these falling numbers Climate stress on Moose, Winter -5F/Summer 70F Cause for moose dying off still under investigation Climate believed to play a part

Isle Royal

Great example of moose/wolf interaction Famous for moose/wolf population Only way off island is ice bridge in winter months (if one

forms) Dermacentor albipictus, the moose tick Warmer climate could promote tick breeding Ticks suck blood from moose making them weak and

vulnerable to wolf attacks or death from exhaustion 2002-2007 devastating moose decrease due to ticks

(Michigan Technical University, 2007)

D. AlbipictusThe moose tick

• In summer, winter ticks are unhatched eggs in soil• In autumn the ticks hatch, crawl to the tops of grasses and latch to moose

walking by• Each winter, 80,000 ticks, may live a single moose • Feed on gallons of blood• Ticks can cause a heavily-infested moose to die• Ticks weaken moose and make them vulnerable to starvation and wolf predation• Warm springs, warm summers, and warm falls are likely to favor ticks

Figure 5,6, and 7, and information from http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/node/44

Historical Examples of Extreme Migration Early 1700’s eastern U.S was heavy in forests

and wolf populations When 1st settlers arrived, they pushed out

wolves Cutting down forests Taking food source Killing wolves (traps, poison, and hunting)

Pushed wolves up to Canada Settled into unoccupied territory- Algonquin Park

(Northern Ontario)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/meet-the-coywolf/full-episode/8605/

Beginning to Adapt

Because of shortage of wolves, they began to mate with coyotes

Coywolf-Hybrid Scientist believe Coywolf most adaptable animal in world Can survive off all size food source Lives in forests and cities alike Can move virtually undetected in heavily urban areas Able to breed to maximize area Allowed to be hunted year round, no bag limit, still

thrives

Coywolf vs Climate Change

Coywolf perfect example of outcome of GLG being pushed out of an area

Settlers destroying home like climate change could destroy home

Figure 8: http://paulmirocha.com/projects/33/

Chances of Coywolf•Coywolf requires Eastern Wolf (GLG wolf) and coyote

•With hybrid, migration can go as south as Tennessee and westward as Kansas

•Red-Eastern wolf range

•Blue-Coyote range

•Green-Possible Coywolf range

•Very possible outcome

Figure 9: http://www.coywolf.org/coywolf-basic-info

Emissions Effect•Based on summer temperatures related to emissions

•Climate relatable to southern states

•If image above is accurate Wolves could be more adapted to move south

• In current climate status, (purple) Hypothetically GLG Wolf is more adapted for southern climate

Figure 10 and info: http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakesuperior/lake-superior-climate-change-impacts-report-201401.pdf

Conclusion

Great Lakes Gray wolf will be effected by climate change through Food source migration Main food dying off Destruction of habitat

Could migrate either north or south Northern migration more probable

Coywolf could change wolf habits and travel in all directions and do very well

Hypothesis

Great Lakes Gray Wolf Is Migrating further due to climate change

ACCEPT

Not necessarily south, but migrating further is highly likely

Work Cited

Figure 1: Retrieved from http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/policy/great.lakes.gray.wolf.pdf.

Paul Mirocha Illustration (2014) Retrieved from http://paulmirocha.com/projects/33/ (Figure 8)

Figure 2: Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_map_-_states-ca.png

Figure 4: Retrieved from http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/536/flashcards/108536/jpg/picture51352403256153.jpg

Dr. Hackett, Maureen. "About Gray Wolf." www.howlingforwolves.org. 1 Jan. 2014. Web.

http://www.howlingforwolves.org/about-gray-wolf,and http://www.howlingforwolves.org/hfw-blog.

Forester, James (Assistant Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota). Interview with Jim du Bois. Saving Minnesota’s Vanishing Moose. Access Minnesota Online. Minneapolis, MN. 9 July. 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.accessminnesotaonline.com/2014/07/09/saving-minnesotas-vanishing-moose/"Gray Wolf Biology: Questions and Answers." www.fws.gov. U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/aboutwolves/wolfbiology.htm. "Lake Superior Climate Change Impact Report." www.epa.gov. 1 Jan. 2014. Web.

http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakesuperior/lake-superior-climate-change-impacts-report-201401.pdf . (Figure 3)

Meet the Coywolf. Pbs.org, 2014. Film.Miller, Mike: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (Personal communication) (8

Sept. 2014) “Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis" Wikipedia. 2014. Web. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parelaphostrongylus_tenuis.

Rose, Gale. "Large Animals Migrating to Kansas." Pratt Tribune. 9 Feb 2013. Web. http://www.pratttribune.com/article/20130209/News/130209077/?Start =2.

"Test Confirm Wolf Killed in Kansas Last Month." The Topeka Capital-Journal. The Associated Press. Web. http://cjonline.com/news/2013- 01-29/test-confirms-wolf-killed-kansas-last-month.

Vucetich, John A. "Small Creature, Big Influence." 1 Jan. 2012. Web. http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/node/44. (Figure 5,6, and 7)

Viegas, J. "Coyote Wolf = New Breed of Predator." NBC News 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 1 Jan. 2014.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32976657/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/coyote-wolf-new-breed-predator/ . The Wildlife Society’s Human-Wildlife Conflict (2011 October) WESTERN GREAT LAKES GRAY WOLF.

Way, Jon. "Coywolf Basic Info." Coywolf.org. 1 Sept. 2013. Web.

http://www.coywolf.org/coywolf-basic-info . (Figure 9)

"Western Great Lakes Gray Wolf." Wildlife.org. The Wildlife Society’s Human-Wildlife Conflict. Web.