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Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are large, terrestrial mustelids with a circumpolar distribution, primarily inhabiting northern boreal forests and alpine regions across North America. As facultative carnivores, they have limited dietary vegetation and are facing threats from climate change, habitat fragmentation, and trapping, which contributes to their population decline. Under consideration for endangerment, ongoing research focuses on their ecological role, climate adaptability, and impacts of human activities. Preserving wolverines is critical for maintaining biodiversity and understanding ecological changes.
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Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Zachary Andrews, Emily Brown, Courtney Comer, Paul Schiller, Donamae So’oto • Introduction: • Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are large, terrestrial mustelids with a circumpolar distribution.11 • Wolverines are facultative carnivores, but consume little vegetation.12 • Wolverines in the contiguous United States are currently being considered for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.19 • Wolverines are trapped in the United States in Alaska and Montana7and in British Columbia, Canada.12 Their pelts are prized for durability and resistance to frost accumulation.18 • Wolverines serve as an indicator species for climate change.3 • Human Relationships: • Trapping is the main cause of mortality in trapped populations.9, 18 • Wolverine harvest affects population demographics.6 • Timber harvesting, skiing and snowmobiling, hunting and trapping, and frequent use of back country roads negatively affect the habitat and behavior of wolverines.15 • Habitat fragmentation by urban and agricultural development prevents wolverine dispersal.1 • Climate change is causing a decrease in the spring snow pack that wolverines need.4, 12, 16, 21 Figure 2. Wolverine (Gulo gulo)23 • Future Research Needs: • Predatory behavior 14 • Climate change • The upper thermal limits of wolverines.3 • Influence of human activities • Trapping mortality • Determine size of un-trapped refugia for sustainable harvest.9 • Stronger evaluation of population sources and sinks. • Improve accuracy of home range and population trend estimates.5 • Evaluate wolverine reintroduction into the contiguous United States to improve genetic diversity in source populations. • Population Ecology: • In North America, wolverines occur in northern boreal forest, taiga and tundra from Labrador to Alaska and in the western mountains from Yukon to Wyoming.9 • In North America, wolverines have lost 36% of their historical range.10 • Wolverines prefer higher elevation habitats from 2,200 to 2,600m.2 • Female wolverines prefer snow depth greater than 1m for reproductive dens.13 • Male wolverines have an estimated home range of 797km2 and females have an estimated home range of 303km2.8 Figure 1. Map of current and historical home range of Wolverine.20 • Literature Cited: • 1.) Aubry, K.B., K.S. McKelvey, and J.P. Copeland. 2007. Distribution and broadscale habitat relations of the wolverine in the contiguous United States. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2147-2158. • 2.) Copeland, J.P., J.M. Peek, C.R. Groves, W.E. Melquist, K.S. McKelvey, G.W. McDaniel, C.D. Long, and C. E. Harris. 2007. Seasonal habitat associations of the wolverine in central Idaho. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2201-2212. • 3.) Copeland, J.P., K.S. McKelvey, K.B. Aubry, A. Landa, J. Persson, R.M. Inman, J. Krebs, E. Lofroth, H. Golden, J.R. Squires, A. Magoun, M.K. Schwartz, J. Wilmont, C.L. Copeland, R.E. Yates, I. Kojola, and R. May. 2010. The bioclimatic envelope of the wolverine (Gulo gulo): do climatic constraints limit its geographic distribution?. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 88: 233-246. • 4.) Dijk, J., T. Andersen, R. May, R. (Reidar) Andersen, R. (Roy) Andersen, and A. Landa. 2008. Foraging strategies of wolverines within a predator guild. Canadian Journal of Zoology 86: 966-975. • 5.) Ellis, M.M., J.S. Ivan, and M.K. Schwartz. 2013. Spatially explicit power analyses for the occupancy-based monitoring of wolverine in the U.S Rocky Mountains. Conservation Biology 28: 52-62. • 6.) Ericsson, Goran, Jens Persson and Peter Segerstrom. Human Caused Mortality in the Endangered Scandinavian Wolverine Population. Biological Conservation 2009: 1-7. • 7.)Golden, H.N., A.M, Christ, and E. K. Solomon. 2007. Spatiotemporal analysis of wolverine Gulo guloharvest in Alaska. Wildlife Biology 13: 68-75. • 8.) Inman, Robert M., et al. "The Wolverine's Niche: Linking Reproductive Chronology, Caching, Competition, and Climate." Journal of Mammalogy (2012): 93, (3), 1-12. • 9.) Krebs, J., E. Lofroth, J. Copeland, V. Banci, D. Cooley, H. Golden, A. Magoun, R. Mulders, and B. Shults. 2004. Journal of Wildlife Management 68: 493-502. • 10.) Laliberte, A.S., and W.J. Rippel. 2004. Range contractions of North American carnivores and ungulates. BioScience 54: 123-138. • 11.) Landa, A, M. Lindén, and I. Kojola. 2000. Action Plan for the conservation of Wolverines (Gulo gulo) in Europe. Nature and Environment 115:1-45. • 12.) Lofroth, E.C., and P.K. Ott. 2007. Assessment of the sustainability of wolverine harvest in British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2193-2200. • 13.) Magoun, A.J. and J.P. Copeland. 1998. Characteristics of wolverine reproductive den sites. Journal of Wildlife Management 62: 1313-1320. • 14.) Persson, Jens. "Population Ecology of Scandinavian Wolverines." Department of Animal Ecology 2003: 7-30. <http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/205/1/JPthesis.pdf>. Accessed 2 Apr 2014. • 15.) Ruggiero, LF., Mckelvey, KS., Aubry, KB,. Copeland, JP,. Pletscher, DH,. Hornocker, IG,. 2007. Wolverine conservation and management. Journal of Wildlife Management. 71:7 2145-2146 • 16.) Schwartz, MK., Aubry, KB., Mckelvey, KS., Pilgrim, KL., Copeland, JP., Squires, JR., Inman, RM., Wisely, SM., Ruggiero, LF. 2007. Inferring geographic isolation of wolverines in California using historical DNA. Journal of Wildlife Management. 71:7 2170-2179 • 17.) Slough, B.G. 2007. Status of the wolverine Gulo guloin Canada. Wildlife Biology 13: 76-82. • 18.) Squires, J.R., J.P. Copeland, T.J. Ulizio, M.K. Schwartz, and L.F. Ruggiero. 2007. Sources and patterns of wolverine mortality in western Montana. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2213-2220. • 19.) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]. 2014. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Endangered species mountain-prairie region: wolverine. <http://www.fws.gov/mountainprairie/species/mammals/wolverine/>. Accessed 1 Apr 2014. • 20.) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]. 2013. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wolverine questions and answers. <http://www.fws.gov/idaho/Wolverine/WolverineFAQS031113.pdf>. Accessed 1 Apr 2014. • 21.) USGCRP. 2009. Regional Climate Change Impacts: Northwest. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, New York, New York, U.S.A. • 22.) Wolverine (Gulo gulo) (2014). In National Geographic. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wolverine/>. Accessed 22 Apr 2014. • 23.) Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Biogeography (2000). In San Francisco State University Department of Geography. <http://online.sfsu.edu/bholzman/courses/Fall00Projects/wolverine.html>. Accessed 23 Apr 2014.
