DEMOGRAPHIC EFFECTS OF CANINE PARVOVIRUS ON A FREE-RANGING WOLF POPULATION OVER 30 YEARS

We followed the course of canine parvovirus (CPV) antibody prevalence in a subpopulation of wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern Minnesota from 1973, when antibodies were first detected, through 2004. Annual early pup survival was reduced by 70%, and wolf population change was related to CPV antibody prevalence. In the greater Minnesota population of 3,000 wolves, pup survival wits reduced by 40-60%. This reduction limited the Minnesota wolf population rate of increase to about 4% per year compared with increases of 16-58% in other populations. Because it is young wolves that disperse, reduced pup survival may have caused reduced dispersal and reduced recolonization of new range in Minnesota.