2010 NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST 17(2):189–204
Genetic Characterization of Eastern “Coyotes” in Eastern
Massachusetts
Jonathan G. Way1, Linda Rutledge2, Tyler Wheeldon2,
and Bradley N. White2
Abstract - This study examined the genetic nature and relatedness of Canis latrans
(Coyotes) in eastern Massachusetts (i.e., eastern Coyotes). We characterized 67 animals
at the mitochondrial DNA control region, and 55 of those at 8 microsatellite loci.
Structure analysis and factorial correspondence analysis of the microsatellite genotypes
indicated that the eastern Coyotes in Massachusetts clustered with other northeastern
Canis populations and away from western Coyotes, C. lycaon (Eastern Wolves), and
C. lupus (Gray Wolves). They contained mitochondrial haplotypes from both western
Coyotes and Eastern Wolves, consistent with their hybrid origin from these two species.
There was no evidence of either C. lupus familiaris (Domestic Dog) or Gray Wolf
mitochondrial DNA in the animals. These results indicate that the eastern Coyote should
more appropriately be termed “Coywolf” to reflect their hybrid (C. latrans x lycaon)
origin. Genetic data were also used to assess parental and kinship relationships, and confirmed that family units typically contain an unrelated breeding pair and their offspring.
Lastly, a synthesis of knowledge of the eastern Coyote as well as implications for Wolf
recovery in the northeast US is provided.
Introduction
Canis latrans Say (Coyotes) living in northeastern North America (i.e.,
eastern Coyotes) have been an enigma to both scientists and laypeople for
many years (Parker 1995). This wild canid started to appear in northern
New England and New York in the 1930s and 1940s and currently inhabits
all of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, ranging from
wilderness to urban areas (Fener et al. 2005, Parker 1995). The animals are
often described as a big version of the western Coyote or a small Wolf, and
many northern New Englanders still call them “coy-dogs” (Way 2007), yet
there remains speculation regarding its origins (Wilson et al. 2009). While
the eastern Coyote has been confirmed as the largest version of the species
(Gompper 2002, Lawrence and Bossert 1969, Silver and Silver 1969, Way
2007, Way and Proietto 2005), the animal’s large body size has confused
its taxonomy (i.e., the var. indicates a variation of Coyote) since it was first
described by Lawrence and Bossert (1969) and Silver and Silver (1969).
Hypotheses as to why eastern Coyotes are bigger include response to
enhanced food supply or larger prey (Thurber and Peterson 1991), genetic adaptation
to prey, mainly Odocoileus virginianus Boddaert (White-tailed Deer)
(Larivière and Crête 1993), or their being Coyote-dog hybrids (Mengel 1971).
1Eastern Coyote Research, 89 Ebenezer Road, Osterville, MA 02655. 2Natural
Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre, Environmental and Life Sciences
Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, ON L8S 4K1, Canada. *Corresponding
author - jw9802@yahoo.com.
190 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
Most of the data reject these hypotheses since medium-sized food (i.e., mice
and rabbits) and deer are abundant throughout the United States (US) (discussed
in Way 2007), and coy-dogs reproduce in fall and give birth in winter
instead of mating in winter and giving birth in early spring as wild canids do
(Mengel 1971, Way et al. 2001). The asymmetry of coy-dog versus wild canid
(i.e., eastern Coyote) reproduction cycles appears to be an effective barrier
preventing introgression of dog genes into wild canid populations in northeastern
North America despite it occurring historically in the southeast US
(e.g., Adams et al. 2003a)—this difference is likely due to harsh winters in the
north, which prevent coy-dogs from surviving when born in mid-winter.
Canis lycaon Schreber (Eastern Wolves) in central Ontario, Canada, are
genetically similar to and probably the same species as C. rufus Audubon and
Bachman (Red Wolf) (Kyle et al. 2006, Wilson et al. 2000). The conspecific
nature of Eastern and Red Wolves is supported by an accumulation of genetic
evidence (e.g., Kyle et al. 2006, 2008; Wilson et al. 2000, 2003, 2009). Therefore,
to simplify, we hereafter use Eastern Wolves (C. lycaon) as an umbrella
termninology that includes Red Wolves (C. rufus), although we note that
Red Wolf samples from the southeastern US were not analyzed in this study.
Evolutionarily, this small deer-eating wolf (Theberge and Theberge 2004) is
more closely related to Coyotes than to C. lupus L. (Gray Wolf) (Hedrick et
al. 2002, Wilson et al. 2000). The Eastern Wolf (not the Gray Wolf) is believed
to be the original Canis species historically present in northeastern North
America (Kyle et al. 2006, 2008; Wilson et al. 2000, 2003, 2009; although see
Nowak 2002) before being extirpated by humans, and is likely the wolf (at a
very small population size) that would have hybridized with western Coyotes
during their eastward migration in the early 1900s (Parker 1995). The close
evolutionary relationship of C. latrans and C. lycaon probably facilitated
hybridization following landscape change, especially when wolf numbers
were low (Grant and Grant 1997) in areas such as southern Ontario. In fact, the
biggest perceived threat currently facing Eastern Wolves in the southeast US
is hybridization with Coyotes colonizing the periphery of the North Carolina
recovery area (Adams et al. 2003b). However, even small (i.e., re-colonizing)
populations of Gray Wolves in the western US show no evidence of hybridization
with western Coyotes (e.g., Pilgrim et al. 1998).
The objectives of this study were to: (1) characterize the genetic composition
of Massachusetts eastern Coyotes in relation to other groups of
Coyotes and wolves from the US and Canada, and (2) determine parentage
and kinship within putative family units. We tested the hypotheses that:
(1) eastern Coyotes in Massachusetts were hybrids between Eastern Wolves
and western Coyotes, and (2) these animals formed social groups (packs)
consisting of unrelated breeding pairs and their offspring.
Methods
Samples
Eastern Coyotes were sampled from Cape Cod (specifically, in and around
the town of Barnstable) and within 20 km of Boston, MA (n = 67). Whole blood
2010 J.G. Way, L. Rutledge, T. Wheeldon, and B.N. White 191
was obtained by venipuncture of live-trapped individuals that were subsequently
released (e.g., Way 2007). Tissue (ear) or organ samples (liver, muscle)
were taken opportunistically from dead animals. Previously analyzed samples
representative of western Coyotes (Texas), Eastern Wolves (Algonquin Provincial
Park), Gray-Eastern Wolf hybrids (northeastern Ontario and Quebec),
and Gray Wolves (Northwest Territories) were included for the genetic analyses.
These sample groups were assigned a species or hybrid designation based
on a combination of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite data (and
some Y-chromosome data) from previous studies (Grewal et al. 2004; Wheeldon
and White 2009; Wilson et al. 2000, 2003, 2009).
To be consistent with Way (2007), we classified eastern Coyote range
as living in established populations in northeastern North America east of
longitude 80° (recent range expansion described by Parker [1995] as New
England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec). Although
seemingly arbitrary, this line is useful because it delineates where
larger “Coyotes” occur (Way 2007, Way and Proietto 2005) and where they
have been recently documented (Fener et al. 2005, Parker 1995).
DNA extraction, amplification, and genotyping
All samples were extracted with a Qiagen DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit
(Qiagen, Mississauga) using the manufacturer’s protocol. A 343–347 base
pair (bp) fragment of the mtDNA control region was amplified using primers
AB13279 (5’-GAA GCT CTT GCT CCA CCA TC-3’; Pilgrim et al. 1998)
and AB13280 (5’-GGG CCC GGA GCG AGA AGA GGG AC-3’; Wilson et
al. 2000). This region allows differentiation between Old World sequences
(i.e., Gray Wolves [C. lupus] or Dogs [C. lupus familiaris L.]) and New
World sequences (i.e., Eastern Wolves [C. lycaon] or Coyotes [C. latrans]),
and also differentiates between haplotypes commonly found in present day
Coyotes and those found in Eastern Wolves (Wilson et al. 2000, 2003). PCR
products were cleaned with ExoSap-IT (USB Corporation, Cleveland, OH)
prior to sequencing on a MegaBACE 1000 (GE Healthcare, Quebec, QC,
Canada). We edited, aligned, and compared sequences to known haplotypes
in Bioedit (Hall 1999), and haplotypes were assigned based on a 230-bp
region (Wilson et al. 2000). Gender was confirmed by amplification of the
zinc finger intron (Shaw et al. 2003). We attempted amplification of 8 nuclear
microsatellite loci for each sample (cxx225, cxx200, cxx123, cxx377,
cxx250, cxx204, cxx172, cxx109; Ostrander et al. 1993, 1995). Amplified
products were analyzed on a MegaBACE 1000, and alleles were scored in
GENEMARKER v1.7 (SoftGenetics LLC).
Data analysis
Genetic analysis. We analyzed microsatellite genotype data using
STRUCTURE v2.2 (Falush et al. 2003, 2007; Pritchard et al. 2000), including
genotypes of samples from this study (Massachusetts: n = 55) and
others based on the same 8 loci (Grewal 2001, Wilson et al. 2009), as well
as some previously unpublished data generated by the Natural Resources
192 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre (NRDPFC) at Trent University: Northwest
Territories (n = 65); Northeastern Ontario (n = 33); Quebec (n = 37);
Algonquin Provincial Park (n = 49); Frontenac Axis (n = 74, located in
southeastern Ontario between Algonquin Park and the Adirondacks); Adirondack
State Park (n = 66); Cortlandville, NY (n = 24); Maine (n = 101);
New Brunswick (n = 20); Ohio (n = 15); North Carolina (n = 22); and
Texas (n = 22) (P. Wilson, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada, W.J.
Jakubas, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Bangor, ME,
and S. Mullen, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 2004 unpubl. data; a copy
of the unpublished report is available from W.J. Jakubas). The admixture
model of STRUCTURE was run for K = 1 to K = 10 with five repetitions of
106 iterations following a burn-in period of 250,000 iterations for each K.
The F-model (i.e., correlated allele frequencies) and I-model (i.e., independent
allele frequencies) of STRUCTURE were both implemented to compare
results, and a separate alpha was inferred for each population to account for
asymmetric admixture. We computed the posterior probability (Ln P[D])
of each K by averaging the posterior probabilities across the five runs for
each K. The number of populations (K) was determined to be five, based
on quantitative criteria outlined by Pritchard et al. (2000: maximal value
of Ln P[D]) and Evanno et al. (2005: ΔK) (Fig. 1), and consideration of the
overall ancestry assignments. The large delta K peak at K = 2 (Fig. 1) probably
reflects a larger amount of sub-structure between Wolves and Coyotes
than within these species (see Koblmuller et al. 2009), but does not reflect
the highest level of population sub-structuring, which we determined to occur
at K = 5. Results were consistent between the F-model and I-model of
STRUCTURE.
Figure 1. Plots of K determination criteria values, ΔK and Ln P(D), for STRUCTURE
analysis of the canid microsatellite genotype data based on 8 loci.
2010 J.G. Way, L. Rutledge, T. Wheeldon, and B.N. White 193
We performed a non-model based factorial correspondence analysis
(FCA) on the microsatellite data for individual canids using GENETIX
(v4.05; Belkhir et al. 1996–2004). Two factorial components, FC-1 and FC-
2, which accounted for 6.84% and 3.66% of the total inertia, respectively,
were plotted to visualize the clustering of the eastern Massachusetts samples
in relation to the other sample groups.
Nei’s standard genetic distances (D) (Nei 1972) and pairwise FST values
were calculated in GenAlEx 6.1 (Peakall and Smouse 2006) to estimate genetic
differentiation among groups and to determine the most likely origin
of founding animals in the study area.
Parentage and kinship analysis.Probability of identity (PID) and probability
of identity of sibs (PIsibs) (Taberlet and Luikart 1999) were calculated for
this dataset in GenAlEx 6.1 (Peakall and Smouse 2006). Field observations
and radio-telemetry data suggested probable parent-offspring relationships
within some packs. We used mtDNA haplotypes to identify matches between
putative mother-offspring. Microsatellite genotypes were used to test the
likelihood of suspected parentage with CERVUS 3.0.3 software (Kalinowski
et al. 2007). Mothers were excluded if their mtDNA haplotype did not match
suspected offspring, and parentage was only assigned when there were no
mismatches in the microsatellite data. We did, however, allow for one trio
mismatch (among mother-father-offspring groupings) where at least one
individual in the comparison was homozygous, if the trio confidence of assignment
was at the ≥95% level. The program ML-Relate (Kalinowski et al.
2006) was used to determine maximum-likelihood estimates of pairwise relatedness
(r) for all individuals (accounting for null alleles) to identify cryptic
relationships and pack social structure within the dataset. Accounting for null
alleles in kinship analysis reduces the chance of Type II false exclusion errors
(e.g., Wagner et al. 2007). Kinship was assigned based on the maximum-likelihood
estimates and only if “unrelated” was not consistent with the genetic
data at the 0.05 level of significance (except in one case where the assignment
of half-siblings was congruent with the other relationships in the pack). In this
case, the most likely kinship assignment was accepted even though ML-Relate
indicated “unrelated” could also be consistent with the data. Telemetry data
(i.e., suspected family units living in the same territory) combined with results
from CERVUS and ML-Relate were used to construct pedigrees for 5 packs
containing 3–5 individuals per pack.
Results
Genetic analysis
The Massachusetts samples contained only New World Canis mtDNA
haplotypes (Genbank accessions provided): C1 (n = 21, AY267718), C9 (n =
26, AY267726), C14 (n = 3, AY267731), C19 (n = 15, AY267736), and C48
(n = 2, FJ687613). Based on the sequence, haplotype C1 is an Eastern Wolf
haplotype (Wilson et al. 2000, 2003), and the other four haplotypes are putative
Coyote haplotypes (C48 matches la031 and la034 found in Nebraska
194 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
Coyotes, C14 matches la033 found in Nebraska coyotes, and C19 matches
la006 found in Texas coyotes; see Hailer and Leonard 2008). There did not
appear to be a sex bias in the frequency of haplotypes among males and
females. In addition, the heavy female Coyote (i.e., “Casper”, ID #9804)
reported by Way and Proietto (2005) from the town of Barnstable, MA had
a C9 mitochondrial DNA haplotype, which clusters with Coyote sequences
but has an apparent eastern-specific distribution (i.e., not observed in western
coyotes from Texas or Nebraska; Hailer and Leonard 2008), and thus
may derive from Eastern Wolves. The microsatellite genotype of this animal
clustered with 98.2% assignment to the “eastern Coyote” grouping.
Based on the microsatellite genotypes, five populations were identified
by STRUCTURE (Fig. 2): P1 = Massachusetts, Frontenac Axis, Adirondacks,
Maine, New York, and New Brunswick; P2 = Texas, Ohio and North
Carolina; P3 = Algonquin Park; P4 = northeastern Ontario and Quebec; P5 =
Northwest Territories. Based on analyses from previous studies (Grewal et
al. 2004; Wheeldon and White 2009; Wilson et al. 2000, 2009) these populations
are interpreted as follows: P1 = eastern Coyote (or “coywolf”, a name
which we suggest better reflects its hybrid origin—see discussion); P2 =
western Coyote; P3 = Eastern Wolf; P4 = Gray-Eastern Wolf hybrids; and
P5 = Gray Wolves. All of the Massachusetts canids clustered with the eastern
Coyote grouping, with very minimal admixture from other populations. The
only notable admixture found in Massachusetts canids was for three animals
that had a 20–40% assignment probability to the western Coyote population.
The FCA plot showed similar groupings to that of STRUCTURE (Fig. 3).
Pairwise comparisons of Nei’s genetic distance and FST values show that
Massachusetts canids are most similar to groups of eastern Coyotes from the
Adirondacks, New York, Maine, and along the Frontenac Axis in Ontario
(Table 1). These data are consistent with hybrid animals originating in Ontario
and moving east through Quebec and New York and south into New
England, including Cape Cod.
Parentage and kinship analysis
Probability of identity and PIDsibs were 1 × 10-6 and 2 × 10-3, respectively.
These values are sufficiently low for individual identification because 1) we
Figure 2. Plot of individual proportional memberships to the K = 5 genetic clusters
inferred by STRUCTURE. Each line represents an individual sample and shows the
proportional ancestry from each of the five populations, represented by different colors:
gray = Gray Wolves, blue = Gray/Eastern Wolf hybrids, green = Eastern Wolf,
yellow = eastern Coyote or “coywolf ”, and red = western Coyote.
2010 J.G. Way, L. Rutledge, T. Wheeldon, and B.N. White 195
were not estimating population size and 2) the mean observed heterozygosity
was high (Ho = 0.64 ± 0.056 SE) (Taberlet and Luikart 1999). Maximum
likelihood estimates of relatedness accounted for null alleles at 2 loci. We
identified parent-offspring relationships in 4 packs: two consisted of an
unrelated breeding pair and their offspring, and the other two were motheroffspring
groupings (Fig. 4A–D; note: the father was not captured in these
groupings but was visually observed traveling with the radio-collared
mother). In a 5th pack, a suspected parent-offspring relationship was instead
identified as 3 full siblings (Fig. 4E).
Discussion
Genetic analysis
The mtDNA suggest that the genetic diversity of Massachusetts canids
originated from both C. latrans (Coyotes) and C. lycaon (Eastern Wolves),
which is consistent with the hypothesis of the hybrid origin of eastern Coyotes.
The mtDNA haplotypes found in the Massachusetts canids (except
C48) are found in Algonquin Park Eastern Wolves and in eastern Coyotes
Figure 3. Factorial correspondence analysis of eight microsatellite loci for five Canis
sample groups. Locality abbreviations are the same as in Table 1.
Table 1. Pairwise comparisons of Nei's genetic distance (D) and FST values between eastern
Coyotes in Massachusetts to other putative Coyotes (Adirondacks [ADIR], Maine [ME], New
York [NY], Frontenac Axis [FRAX], New Brunswick [NB], Ohio [OH], North Carolina [NC],
Texas [TX]), Eastern Wolves (Algonquin [ALG]), Gray Wolves (Northwest Territories [NWT]),
and Eastern-Gray Wolf hybrids (Northeast Ontario [NEON], Quebec [QUE]) populations.
ADIR ME NY FRAX NB NC ALG TX OH NEON QUE NWT
FST 0.012 0.020 0.027 0.033 0.045 0.073 0.125 0.121 0.125 0.134 0.156 0.322
D 0.044 0.059 0.089 0.095 0.123 0.240 0.346 0.366 0.418 0.465 0.499 1.048
196 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
south of the Park along the Frontenac Axis, where they are called Tweed
Wolves (Grewal et al. 2004; Wilson et al. 2000, 2009). Data from both the
mitochondrial haplotypes and the microsatellite loci suggests that Massachusetts
canids are lycaon x latrans hybrids, similar to the Tweed Wolf found
in the Frontenac Axis (Wilson et al. 2009). The genetic distance between
groups is consistent with the Massachusetts founders originating in southern
Ontario and progressing south, down the eastern US and into Massachusetts,
rather than from North Carolina or Ohio (Table 1).
The three closely related species of North American Canis (western Coyote,
Eastern Wolf, and Gray Wolf) do not conform to the biological species
concept (Mayr 1942) because they are not reproductively isolated and gene
flow occurs between them (Kyle et al. 2006). Although there is no evidence
for direct hybridization between Gray Wolves and western Coyotes, the Eastern
Wolf mediates gene flow between these two species. This relationship
Figure 4. A–E. Pedigrees for five packs of eastern Coyotes from Massachusetts. Circles
represent females and squares represent males. All individuals were sampled in this
analysis except for unknowns (UK). For example, a radio-collared breeding female
may have been sampled along with some of her offspring, while the female’s mate may
have been uncollared and not sampled, but known to have been present.
2010 J.G. Way, L. Rutledge, T. Wheeldon, and B.N. White 197
is especially apparent in southeastern Ontario where the term “Canis soup”
was coined to reflect the mix of eastern Coyotes, Eastern Wolves, Gray
Wolves and their hybrids (see Grewal et al. 2004, Sears et al. 2003, Wilson
et al. 2009). Microsatellite genotype data presented here provide evidence
that the Massachusetts northeastern canids cluster genetically with other
eastern Coyote populations and separately from western Coyotes, Eastern
Wolves, and Gray Wolves. Because of their morphological and genetic distinctiveness,
including from the nearest subspecies of western Coyote, C. l.
thamnos Jackson, found in the midwest United States (Berg and Chesness
1978, Parker 1995, Way 2007), we suggest that the eastern Coyote be called
the “Eastern Coywolf” or just “Coywolf” (C. latrans x lycaon). This term
better reflects the genetic composition of this highly successful canid.
Parentage and kinship analysis
The data suggest that eastern Coyote social groups on Cape Cod and in
the Boston area are made up of family groups, similar to those seen in other
parts of eastern North America (e.g., Harrison 1992, Patterson and Messier
2001). Offspring typically remain with their parents anywhere from 6 months
to about 2 years of age before dispersing to new areas (Harrison et al. 1992);
these social units produce a pack of Coyotes. Typically 3–5 adults live together
in a territorial pack (Patterson and Messier 2001, Way 2003, Way et al.
2002). Several benefits to social grouping in canids include improved hunting
efficiency of large prey (Bekoff et al. 1981, Sand et al. 2006, Schmidt and
Mech 1997), defense of territories (Bowen 1981), improved pup survivability
(Brainerd et al. 2008), and defense against kleptoparasitism (Vucetich et al.
2004). The relatedness analyses based on microsatellite data suggest that a
typical pack consists of related family members, aside from the unrelated
breeding pair (Fig. 4). In some cases, we cannot exclude father-son relationships
although the maximum likelihood analysis indicates siblings.
Summary of eastern Coyote ecology and behavior
Ecologically, the eastern Coyote behaves as one might predict for a 13.6–
18.2 kg (30–40 lb) wild canid. On average, it has a larger home range than
most western Coyotes but smaller than wolves, at about 30 km2 (Mech and
Boitani 2003, Patterson and Messier 2001, Way et al. 2002). They also travel
long distances daily (16–24 km; Patterson et al. 1999, Way et al. 2004), eat
a variety of food including deer, medium-sized prey such as Sylvilagus spp.
(rabbits), and Microtus spp. (voles) (Harrison 1992, Morey et al. 2007, Patterson
and Messier 2001), and are social, often living in families of three to five
members (Patterson and Messier 2001, Way 2003, Way et al. 2002; note: western
Coyotes have also been found to be social where there is abundant prey—
see Andelt 1985, Gese et al. 1996). In short, it has ecological and physical
characteristics that can be seen on a continuum of Coyote-like to wolf-like.
Overall, though, the eastern Coyote seems to occupy an ecological niche that
is closer to Coyotes than wolves, which are typically obligate predators of deer
(Mech and Peterson 2003, Peterson and Ciucci 2003).
198 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
The eastern Coyote, which colonized northeastern North America in the
20th century (Fener et al. 2005, Parker 1995), has a mixture of mitochondrial
DNA from Eastern Wolves and naturally colonizing western Coyotes. Although
anthropogenic factors such as degradation of original habitat (i.e.,
conversion of forests into agricultural lands) and wolf-eradication programs
facilitated Coyote colonization eastward (Gompper 2002), their expansion
and subsequent hybridization with Eastern Wolves was a natural response
to environmental changes, making them a naturally evolving member of the
faunal community. With changing land-use patterns, hybridization, which is
a natural event in nature (Meffe and Carroll 1994), should not be viewed as a
negative influence. Rather, it may be enhancing the adaptive potential of both
western Coyotes and Eastern Wolves, allowing this emerging new species to
more effectively exploit available resources in rapidly changing environments
(Kyle et al. 2006). Furthermore, Eastern Wolf genes may be able to persist
in regions from which they would otherwise be extirpated (Kyle et al. 2008,
Murray and Waits 2007). Kyle et al. (2008) noted that “Coyote/Wolf hybrids
are likely harboring Wolf genes that would otherwise be lost due to genetic
drift in a small isolated population … and hybridization is moving towards a
Canis that is better adapted to anthropogenically modified landscapes.”
The eastern Coyote has a relatively uniform genetic makeup throughout
the Northeast and currently breeds with other eastern Coyotes with minimal
influence from other Canis types (i.e., western Coyotes or Eastern Wolves;
Fig. 2). There is an alternative possibility to widespread hybridization
documented in this paper and that involves a small founder effect where the
populations of canids in northeastern North America were low due to human
exploitation and habitat conversion. This theory postulates that a localized
hybridization event occurred between western Coyotes and Eastern Wolves
and their offspring subsequently colonized the Northeast. However, given
the widespread occurrence of the same mtDNA haplotypes in Eastern Wolf-
Coyote hybrids in southern Ontario, and the clear difference of this expansive
eastern Coyote population from other Canis types, we suggest that widespread
hybridization is a more probable explanation than a founder effect.
Scientists, managers, and laypeople should appropriately classify the four
canids found in North America belonging to the genus Canis as the Western
Coyote (Canis latrans), Eastern Coyote (or “Coywolf” as we suggest)
(C. latrans x lycaon; east of longitude 80° including New England, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec), Eastern Wolf (C. lycaon,
including C. rufus), and Gray Wolf (C. lupus). A possible fifth group involves
Eastern/Gray Wolf hybrids in the Minnesota/Ontario area (see Wheeldon and
White 2009). With this “Canis soup” of different but closely related species
(there is gene flow from lupus to lycaon [Grewal et al. 2004, Wheeldon and
White 2009, Wilson et al. 2009] and lycaon to latrans [Wilson et al. 2009]),
distinct species status for any canid complicates conservation efforts (including
C. lupus; e.g., Kolenosky 1971, Schmitz and Kolenosky 1985); however,
this paper suggests that the eastern Coyote has levels of genetic structure that
2010 J.G. Way, L. Rutledge, T. Wheeldon, and B.N. White 199
are comparable in magnitude to those found between the other species of
Canis (Figs. 2 and 3). Therefore, it is recommended that future research
should extensively sample Canis from throughout the US and Canada to better
understand the limits of the distributional ranges of the extant Canis species
in North America and more clearly delimit the areas where hybridization is
occurring. The use of noninvasive sampling (e.g., using scat-detecting dogs,
rub-posts, snare-posts) could be an efficient method to obtain DNA samples
from a wide geographic range (Long et al. 2008)
Implications for wolf recovery into the northeast US
In addition to the eastern Coyote, there have also been a number of
wolves (i.e., ca. 30–40 kg, typical wolf-sized animals) that have appeared in
the northeastern United States in the past 10 to 20 years (Glowa et al. 2009).
These Wolves seem to be either Eastern or Eastern-Gray Wolf hybrids (usually
referred to as Gray Wolves, but see Wilson et al. 2009), but have limited
Coyote genetic material (see Glowa et al. 2009 and sources within). Current
wolf range in southern Canada is within 100 miles of the United States, a distance
that wolves could travel in a week or two (Mech and Boitani 2003, Way
et al. 2004). Unfortunately, all of these wolves detected in the northeastern
US have been found dead before anyone could monitor them (Glowa et al.
2009). Research indicates that habitat exists for wolves in this region (Harrison
and Chapin 1997), and as recommended by Kyle et al. (2006), we also
suggest that management policies should allow eastern canids to continue to
adapt to their changing environment as an efficient means towards establishing
a Canis population that is able to effectively exploit the available habitat
and prey-base. Within this context, issues arise from the difficulty of clearly
distinguishing Eastern Wolves from eastern Coyotes based on morphology
and their tendency to hybridize, especially where the two are sympatric (e.g.,
regions of eastern Ontario, Canada).
Because we have a legal obligation to restore a species on the endangered
species list to its native range, the difficulty of distinguishing Eastern
Wolves from eastern Coyotes/coywolves may have implications for the
classification of coywolves under both the Convention on the International
Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and state hunting/trapping legislation,
especially considering that Gray Wolves are the only subspecies of
Wolf in the northeastern US currently listed under the Endangered Species
Act. It may be prudent to allow the eastern Coyote to evolve in response to
natural selection without extensive human manipulation (i.e., hunting, trapping),
especially given the potentially adaptive hybrid genome inhabiting
these regions as observed through the recent emergence of large wolf-like
Canis in New England (e.g., Way 2007, Way and Proietto 2005).
Most northeastern states allow unlimited killing of eastern Coyotes, yet
it does not greatly affect their overall population sizes (see Parker 1995).
While western Coyotes, eastern Coyotes, and wolves are all impacted by
exploitation in some way (i.e., socially, ecologically, potential for inbreeding,
etc.), western and eastern Coyotes are seemingly able to fill the void of
200 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 17, No. 2
missing individuals more readily (Parker 1995), while wolves are generally
more impacted by exploitation (Mech and Boitani 2003). Therefore, better
management strategies for the protection of all canids existing in the northeastern
US (see Glowa et al. 2009) may result in the natural restoration of a
more wolf-like canid in the Northeast. In other words, with current management
(i.e., year-long seasons) on eastern Coyotes in most northern US states,
wolves have no effective protection if they make it into the northeastern US.
While hybridization is a potential problem between eastern Coyotes and any
Eastern or Eastern-Gray Wolf that make it into the northeastern US, natural
selection may favor a more wolf-like canid if the two are allowed to breed
and survive without human killing. It could be argued that Gray Wolves may
be a more appropriate source for an active wolf restoration as they likely will
not hybridize with eastern Coyotes and may be more ecologically effective
predators of larger ungulates like Alces alces L. (Moose). However, it will
be difficult to find a source of suitable Gray Wolves in the east, as the neighboring
wolves in central Ontario and eastern Quebec are Eastern Wolves or
Eastern-Gray Wolf hybrids (Wilson et al. 2009).
Acknowledgments
J.G. Way thanks the Way family, E.G. Strauss at Boston College, I.M. Ortega at
the University of Connecticut Storrs, and C. Bernon at Barnstable High School for
employing him during this research. The genetic work was supported by NSERC
grants to B.N. White and NSERC scholarships to T. Wheeldon and L. Rutledge. We
also thank Jen Dart for performing some of the DNA analyses. Two anonymous reviewers
provided helpful comments.
Editor's note: For the sake of clarity and common understanding, it is journal policy
to use widely accepted common names when available in referring to species. The
repeated use of the term eastern Coyotes in this manuscript reflects that policy and
does not reflect the authors' belief that this sub-population of the species would more
accurately be termed Coywolf and their suggestion that Coywolf actually become the
standard accepted name .
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