Abstract
The aim is to study inbreeding depression in the small, isolated, and threatened Scandinavain wolf population. Because it has been monitored since it, through natural immigration, was faunded in 1983, we have managed to construct a near complete pedigree, an unique achievement for a wild mammal population.ancestry of all breeding animals is determined by combining ecological field data with DNA microsatellite analysis. We can thus calculate inbreeding coefficients, which we will use for analysis of inbreeding depression. We have prelinminary data showing strong inbreeding depression in one important vital rate. . We will now extend these analyses and include more fitness measurements to estimate total effect of inbreeding on the demography, and to calculate genetic load in form of lethal equivalents. We will also examine inheritance of malformations occurring in the population and their association with inbreeding. We will use MHC analysis to examine effect of inbreeding on susceptibility to sarcoptic mange, a prevalanet disease in the population. We will also evaluate the usefulness of multilocucus individual heterozygosity as an inderct measure of inbreeding levels. Ecological field data are obtained by cooperating ecological projects within the Scandinavian international research network SKANDULV.
Sweden