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. 2016 Jun 1;9(6):791-804.
doi: 10.1111/eva.12388. eCollection 2016 Jul.

Describing a developing hybrid zone between red wolves and coyotes in eastern North Carolina, USA

Justin H Bohling  1 , Justin Dellinger  2 , Justin M McVey  3 , David T Cobb  4 , Christopher E Moorman  3 , Lisette P Waits  1
Affiliations

Describing a developing hybrid zone between red wolves and coyotes in eastern North Carolina, USA

Justin H Bohling et al. Evol Appl. .

Abstract

When hybridizing species come into contact, understanding the processes that regulate their interactions can help predict the future outcome of the system. This is especially relevant in conservation situations where human activities can influence hybridization dynamics. We investigated a developing hybrid zone between red wolves and coyotes in North Carolina, USA to elucidate patterns of hybridization in a system heavily managed for preservation of the red wolf genome. Using noninvasive genetic sampling of scat, we surveyed a 2880 km(2) region adjacent to the Red Wolf Experimental Population Area (RWEPA). We combined microsatellite genotypes collected from this survey with those from companion studies conducted both within and outside the RWEPA to describe the gradient of red wolf ancestry. A total of 311 individuals were genotyped at 17 loci and red wolf ancestry decreased along an east-west gradient across the RWEPA. No red wolves were found outside the RWEPA, yet half of individuals found within this area were coyotes. Hybrids composed only 4% of individuals within this landscape despite co-occurrence of the two species throughout the RWEPA. The low proportion of hybrids suggests that a combination of active management and natural isolating mechanisms may be limiting intermixing within this hybrid system.

Keywords: conservation‐reliant species; endangered species; genetic cline; genetic introgression; noninvasive genetic sampling.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the Red Wolf Experimental Population Area (RWEPA) and the associated study design. The areas shaded in gray represent the five counties that compose the RWEPA, and the solid black lines are the boundaries of the three management zones. The dashed lines indicate the boundaries of the sampling zones designated for the 2010 scat survey. Note that the western boundaries of Zone 3 and Zone A overlap for most of their lengths. The inset is a map of eastern North Carolina and the RWEPA. The solid black line in the inset indicates the western boundary of the 2008 scat survey (Zone D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of q‐values produced by STRUCTURE at K = 2 for all individuals detected via noninvasive genetic sampling. Each q‐value is surrounded by a 90% credibility interval. The vertical axis denotes the q‐value estimated for the red wolf cluster identified by STRUCTURE. Individuals are sorted along the horizontal axis in ascending order according to their q‐value.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of individuals detected across the study area and their associated amount of red wolf ancestry. Each point represents a different individual, and each color reflects its classification based on red wolf ancestry. Stars represent individuals that had previously been captured and genotyped; circles denote new individuals identified via NIS. ‘Red wolf’ refers to individuals with a STRUCTURE q‐value great than 0.875 for the red wolf cluster; ‘Hybrid’ between 0.125 and 0.875; ‘Coyote’ less than 0.125. The solid black lines are the boundaries of the three management zones, and the dashed lines indicate the boundaries of the sampling zones designated for the 2010 scat survey. Note that this map does not cover the entire extent of Zone D: only individuals that fit within this frame are represented on the map.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Average level of red wolf ancestry for each geographic zone. These values were determined by averaging the amount of red wolf ancestry across all individuals detected in each zone. Each value is surrounded by its corrected 95% confidence interval. Lower case letters indicate groups of zones that could not differentiated using the Fisher's LSD test. Note that the distribution of the zones on this graph follows geographic distribution across this system with Zone D as the western most zone and Zone 1 as the eastern most. The distance between the zones on the x‐axis does not reflect their actual geographic distance. Note that sampling Zones 3 and A were combined for this analysis due to substantial spatial overlap.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution of q‐values representing red wolf ancestry for the empirical data (A) and the four simulated scenarios (B–E). Each point represents an individual, and they are ranked on the horizontal axis in ascending order by their q‐value. These ancestry values were produced by STRUCTURE. For the bottom four panels, the vertical axis is unlabeled but it follows the same scale as Panel A.
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