An investigation over eight years reveals the need to use methodologies that offer reliable data on the population of the species, which remains threatened.
An investigation by the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid (MNCN) found that there are fewer Iberian wolves than previously thought. The reason? The population monitoring methods used have been unreliable and insufficient.
The tracking of Iberian wolves
Since September 2021, the wolf has been protected and its hunting is prohibited throughout Spain. This ban was in response to protests from ranchers who complained that wolves were threatening their farms, which could lead to the belief that wolf populations were growing. But the reality is different.
For eight years, between 2010 and 2018, researchers from the MNCN —in collaboration with the Wolf Conservation Status Observatory and the CSIC Scientific Calculation Service — monitored the population of Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) of the Central System of the Iberian Peninsula.
The data collected show that very few herds have a regular reproductive activity that allows them, in the long term, to generate offspring and expand to other territories. The conclusions offered by other authors about the status of the species are very optimistic and unrealistic.
Two males with winter fur. Images captured with camera traps. / Observatory of the State of Conservation of the Wolf.
This is confirmed by Victoria González, a researcher at the MNCN: “A two-year population assessment, which is the working time normally spent, cannot replace a population dynamics study, which requires a 10-year follow-up. 15 years minimum. With current assessments, it cannot be determined without a significant margin of error whether the population is increasing, decreasing or stable.”
For this study, published in hystrix magazine In the Italian Journal of Mammalogy, non-invasive sampling techniques were used: detection of signs of wolf marks on sampling routes, detection of droppings to delimit herd territories and placement of camera traps to obtain information on the size of these herds.
More accurate sampling to protect the Iberian wolf
The conclusions obtained are worrying because they reveal that the Iberian wolf population shows symptoms of stagnation and general decline, in an area where the species has the highest category of protection granted by the European Union.
“According to the results of our research, herds distributed in the Central System must have at least four individuals to guarantee reproduction. But this is rare, because we saw that the average size of the packs was 3.5 wolves”, explains Fernando Palacios, a CSIC researcher who has spent decades studying the situation of the species in the Iberian Peninsula.
Packs must have at least four individuals to ensure reproduction, but we saw that the average size was 3.5 wolves
“This tendency towards small packs negatively influences the wolf’s reproduction rates and indicates that its conservation status in the area is unfavorable”, adds Palacios. Among the causes of this decline, the researcher points out the increase in mortality due to human interference, whether intentional by poaching or accidental by being run over.
The authors call for a greater sampling effort. This will avoid falling into erroneous estimates that compromise its viability and will help to make appropriate decisions to protect the species. “Decisions on the exploitation of their populations can only be made by assessing their conservation status, essential information that is not known. Therefore, our work proposes a more accurate monitoring methodology to obtain reliable results about the species, aiming to establish the management of its populations and create protection strategies”, says Abraham Prieto, also author of the study.
The return of the wolf to the Central System
The wolf is one of the great carnivores of European ecosystems. It plays a key role as a natural regulator of other populations more prone to hunting, such as deer, roe deer or wild boar.
But in Spain, the species was extirpated from the Sistema Central in 1976. Three decades later, in 2006, it returned and recolonized the region, south of the Douro River. In addition to becoming an object of Spanish study, today it represents the most southwestern population of the species’ distribution area in Europe.
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Source: MNCN