Trent Researcher Discovers Red Wolf Not Yet Extinct
Collaborative research by Dr. Linda Rutledge provides new hope for red wolf conservation
Dr. Linda Rutledge, assistant professor of Biology, was a key contributor to a study that may prove crucial to the survival of the critically endangered red wolf. Her latest research reveals the remarkable discovery that red wolf DNA was concealed in wild canines on Galveston Island off the U.S. Gulf Coast, a region where the species was deemed extinct nearly 40 years ago.
Along with collaborators at Princeton University, Professor Rutledge co-authored the study "Rediscovery of Red Wolf Ghost Alleles in a Canid Population Along the American Gulf Coast.” The study was released in December 2018 in a special issue of the journal Genes.
“It is always great to see the work finally come together in a publication that is important for conservation,” said Prof. Rutledge.
After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) collected all the remaining wild red wolves for a captive breeding program, it was assumed that red wolf DNA was limited to a small population that was reintroduced into North Carolina in 1988.
“This exciting paper suggests that there are remnant red wolf genome fragments within wild canids in the southern U.S.,” states Prof. Rutledge. “This is an important contribution to the body of literature that supports conservation of red wolves. It also suggests that hybrid animals have conservation value when it comes to protecting evolutionary potential.”
As a post-doctoral research associate at Princeton in 2015 and 2016, Prof. Rutledge introduced and optimized the protocol used for preparing DNA libraries. She generated data and tested analytical pipelines for various genomics projects including this study. Trent University also shared samples to create an expansive database of North American wolves and coyotes as part of Princeton’s Canis Ancestry Project.
“This type of collaboration demonstrates how people and labs can come together to build on a foundation of research. It helps promote science that supports a stronger argument for conservation priorities.”
This study accompanies Prof. Rutledge’s long-standing research involving conservation of Algonquin wolves, which was also published in the special issue of Genes. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/12/606
As for her students, Prof. Rutledge regularly highlights research from Trent faculty in her lectures.
“Trent’s Biology department has incredible faculty that are doing world class research and I think it is important for students to know the international impact that research here is having.”