Wolf Monitoring and Research in Denali National Park and Preserve and Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

Borg B , Sorum M , Klauder K , Bywater N. Wolf Monitoring and Research in Denali National Park and Preserve and Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve. 1926. National Park Service

Wolves (Canis lupus), are one of six keystone large mammal species in interior Alaska and have been the focus of decades of research in Alaska. Accounts of wolf research in Denali date back to the early 1900s and continuous monitoring projects for wolves began in Denali in 1986 and in Yukon-Charley in 1993. Wolves specifically identified in the enabling legislation and management objectives of these parks. Wolves are good indicators of long-term habitat change within ecosystems because they depend on healthy populations of large ungulate prey (such as moose and caribou), which in turn respond to vegetation, weather, and other habitat patterns across the entire landscape. As a top predator, wolves may play a key role in influencing prey populations, and as a result may influence vegetation patterns and ungulate harvest by humans on NPS parks and preserves in Alaska. Wolves are of great importance to park visitors because of the unique opportunities to view wolves in Alaska’s parks. Information on wolf populations will allow managers to protect wolves in a variety of ways. Examples include locating and isolating active dens from disturbance; determining whether wolves are being impacted by activities (such as wolf control) outside park boundaries; and evaluating the long-term changes in Alaska populations using genetic data gathered during radio collaring.

Type
Project
Authors
Borg, Bridget; Sorum, Mathew; Klauder, Kaija; Bywater, Nicklas
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
CAKN , DENA , YUCH
Keywords
Alaska, Canis lupus, Charley, Denali, Mammal, National Park, Population, Predator, Prey, Ungulate, Wolf, Wolves, Yukon
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals

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