The Grey Wolf ~ Rachel Magruder    
 

     The Grey Wolf ~ Rachel Magruder    

     

Sunday, April 22, 2007

            
            

    Week 13      

            
         

Dear Boss,

Here is how my species, the Grey Wolf, is classified:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Craniata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Carnivora
• Family: Canidae
• Genus: Canis
• Species: lupus

Wolves have developed many features that have helped them adapt to the many environments they can be found in all over the world.

One of the wolves’ adaptations is their howling. Howling plays a very important role in a wolf pack. Wolves use howling to communicate with and find each other over long distances. It can also be used to challenge other wolves or warn other packs to stay away.

Wolves also use their tails to communicate. This is another one of the wolves’ great adaptations. By moving their tails in certain ways or placing them in certain positions, wolves can express emotions such as anger or submission. Such communication helps wolves understand each other and their positions within or outside of the pack.

One more interesting adaptation of the wolves is their paws. A wolf’s paws are equipped with scent glands, located between the toes. These glands leave a scent wherever they go that serves to identify them to other wolves.

The first adaptation in particular proposes a problem. Many people may become annoyed by the constant howling of wolves if they live in an area that wolves frequent. I think it would be highly profitable for our company if we were to solve this problem using selective breeding. We could find wolves that howl less loudly, and by breeding them and their offspring we could then produce over time many wolves that howl more softly.

However, there are many things that we will need to research before beginning this experiment. First of all, would wolves even breed in captivity? Would we need to keep them in their traditional pack system? It is difficult to know yet how this would work.

There is the possibility that if we follow through with this selective breeding project, it may result in us creating a new species of wolf. A new species is formed when a population splits from another population and eventually refuses or is unable to breed with the original population or have viable offspring. In the case of the wolves, perhaps wolves give preference in breeding to wolves with louder howls. If this were the case, then wolves with the preference for louder howls would refuse to breed with the wolves with softer howls, therefore resulting in a divergence of species.

It would be prudent to consider well the consequences this plan might have before proceeding with it. Would this type of selective breeding be, in fact, ethical? Allow me to explain. Because the howling of the wolves is so integral to their communication, altering the volume of their howls could damage their social patterns. Perhaps they would no longer be able to communicate as well over long distances, which would result in wolves becoming lost, or even wolf packs fighting with each other more often as the distance from which a wolf could respond to or issue challenges would be dramatically decreased. In conclusion, it might not be wise or ethical to enact this selective breeding program for wolves.

Sincerely,
Rachel Magruder


Sources:

NatureServe. 9 November 2006. Comprehensive Report Species - Canis lupus. <http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Canis+lupus>. 22 April 2007.

Animal Planet. 24 May 2006. Corwin’s Carnival of Creatures. <http://web.archive.org/web/20060524181949/http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/jeffcorwin/carnival/lilmammal/wolf.html>. Downloaded 22 April 2007.

Fred H. Harrington. November 2000. Nova Online: Wild Wolves: What’s in a Howl? <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/howl.html>. Downloaded 22 April 2007.

       
       

posted by Rachel at       9:49 PM      

   
                  

Saturday, March 31, 2007

            
            

    Week 10      

            
         

Report #1: To the Society for the Conservation of the Grey Wolf:


I greatly appreciate your desire to help protect the grey wolf. The species Canis lupus consists of many different subspecies all over the world, each slightly unique. One of the things that I believe needs to be done in order to better protect wolves is to research these different subspecies and their differences and similarities to each other. This can be done by comparing genetic data acquired through DNA fingerprinting.


An example of this is a project done to benefit Sumatran tigers, as explained on http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/aroundtheworld/pages/cat.html. DNA from Sumatran tigers was compared to DNA from other subspecies of tigers. The results showed that Sumatran tigers were indeed their own separate subspecies.


If a similar study were to be performed for all the subspecies of wolves possible, we could learn a lot about these wolves and how to best preserve them in each of their unique environments. Also determining which wolves are the most similar would help efforts to breed more populations of wolves.


Consequently, I propose that a study should be done involving DNA fingerprinting. First, DNA would be gathered in a humane way from different wolf populations all over the world. Then, the DNA would be taken to a lab to create DNA fingerprints. Finally, the DNA fingerprints for each subspecies would be analyzed and compared to each other to give us the genetic data that could help preserve grey wolves all over the world.


Thank you for your concern.




Report #2: To the Society for the Genetic Modification of the Grey Wolf:


I greatly appreciate your desire to help protect the grey wolf by genetic modification. It has come to my attention that in addition to the wolves’ problems with loss of habitat and a bad reputation that causes them to be illegally killed, they can also suffer from the effects of pesticides. Twelve wolves studied in Galicia, Spain (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/es/2000/00000045/00000003/art01856), had high doses of pesticides in their bodies. Considering the prevalence of pesticides around the world, it would not be surprising if many wolf populations were suffering due to pesticides. Consequently, I suggest that wolves undergo genetic modification to make them resistant to pesticides and therefore help protect an already suffering species.


Some plants have already been modified with genes that are resistant to pesticides and herbicides. Perhaps we could take that pesticide and herbicide resistant gene and transfer it to wolves. In order to transfer the gene to wolves, we would need to take the gene from a plant chromosome and attach it to a plasmid from a bacterium. The plasmid would have been previously cut with the same restriction enzymes as the gene, so they would come together to form a recombinant plasmid. This would be put back into the bacterial cell, which would then multiply and would eventually be injected into wolves.


However, there is a significant environmental impact that may arise if this is done. If much of the wolves’ prey, such as caribou, moose or deer, has been exposed to pesticides or herbicides themselves, then the wolves will not eat the exposed animals. This would wreak havoc on the wolves’ system of survival and may cause many to starve. Also, if this gene was accidentally transferred to any other predator near the wolves, it may have the exact same effect on them, too, causing them to not be able to eat their prey and therefore starve. Consequently, I believe that much research will need to go into this idea before it is acted upon.


Thank you for your concern.




Cracraft, Joel. Undated. The Big Cats of Sumatra. http://www.ology.amnh.org/genetics/aroundtheworld/pages/cat.html. Downloaded March 31, 2007.



González-Barros, Carril, Alvarez Piñeiro, Lozano, and Lage Yusty. “Organochlorine Pesticides in Wolves from Galicia.” Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Volume 45, Number 3, March 2000, pp. 247-252(6). http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/es/2000/00000045/00000003/art01856. Downloaded March 31, 2007.



Wikipedia. 2007. Gray Wolf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf. Downloaded on March 31, 2007.

       
       

posted by Rachel at       9:39 PM      

   
                  

Sunday, February 25, 2007

            
            

    Grey Wolf Documentary      

            
         

Welcome to today’s episode of Adventures in Animalia.

They live all over the world. They can be found in the forested lands, in the sweltering desert, in the frigid arctic tundra. In many, they inspire ice-cold fear—in others, a deep sense of wonder and beauty.


[Image source: http://animals.timduru.org]

They are wolves.

The arctic wolf, the timber wolf, the Mexican wolf, the plains wolf, the tundra wolf—these are all names for the species called Canis lupus, most commonly referred to in English as the grey wolf.

The grey wolf belongs to the kingdom Animalia and the domain Eukarya. They also belong to the phylum Chordata, or vertebrates. Like horses, mice, camels and humans, wolves are mammals.

Wolves can be found in over 70 countries around the world, in an incredible variety of terrestrial habitats. They have been found in both very hot and very cold climates, in forests, grasslands, shrublands, the tundra, the desert and wetlands. However, humans have encroached significantly on their habitat.

For food, wolves prefer large hoofed animals such as caribou, moose or elk. They also enjoy the occasional wild boar. They have been known to scavenge garbage or carrion, and farmers have longed feared them due to their occasional taste for livestock. Unlike many stories might claim, though, they do not eat humans—in fact, they are more likely to run away from people than to attack.

Grey wolves have some characteristics of potential interest to bioprospectors. Like other canines, wolves have chemicals in their saliva that kill germs. In fact, their mouths are cleaner than ours. Perhaps someday scientists will find a way to use information from this amazing characteristic to help protect us from dangerous germs.

In the United States, grey wolves are listed as either endangered or threatened, depending on the place. Some of this is due to their undeserved reputation. Throughout history, they have often been hunted by people who mistakenly believe that they are man-eaters, as well as farmers scared for their livestock. But one of the biggest threats to wolves is the loss of their habitat. Although this has most often been done directly by the hands of humans, a new killer is looming on the horizon. Because of changes in climate due to global warming, wolves face perhaps an even greater depletion of their habitats. Who knows where they will be a hundred years from now? Perhaps, if we work together, we can find a way to help save these majestic creatures from destruction.


[Image source: http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl]

Mech, L.D. & Boitani, L. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006. Canis lupus. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/3746/summ. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Conservation Online System. 2007. Species Profile: Gray wolf (Canis lupus). http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=A00D. Downloaded on February 25, 2007.

Wikipedia. 2007. Gray Wolf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf. Downloaded on February 25, 2007

       
       

posted by Rachel at       9:48 PM