Sexual dimorphism and population differentiation of the wolf (Canis lupus) based on morphometry in the Central Balkans

Abstract

Previously described morphological and genetic differentiation of the wolf populations in the region of the Central Balkans was tested using morphometric characteristics. Morphometric analyses of sexual dimorphism and population differentiation of the Dinaric-Balkan wolf population in the Central Balkan region was based on five parameters of external morphology and body mass. In total, 128 wolves collected at 35 localities from three populations (Bosnia and Herzegovina, eastern Serbia and western Serbia) were included in the analyses. Male adult wolves from the Central Balkans were significantly weightier (Student's t = 4.931, p < 0.000), longer (HBL t = 4.060, p < 0.000; TL t = 2.141, p < 0.035; EL t = 4.152, p < 0.000) and higher at the shoulder (t = 4.152, p < 0.000) than adult females. There was no significant difference between sexes in ear length (t = 1.870, p < 0.065). Sexual dimorphism in subadult wolves (age 6 to 9 months) was not found. Canonical discrimination analysis of morphological data showed that the three populations were differentiated into an "eastern" (eastern Serbia and western Serbia) and "western" subpopulation (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Our results support the hypothesis that the Drina River separates populations in the Central Balkan region into bigger and weightier wolves from Bosnia and Herzegovina and smaller and lighter ones from Serbia. The apparent steady differentiation of the Dinaric-Balkan wolf's population into an "eastern" and "western" subpopulation can be important in conservation and management strategies especially at the transboundary level. © NwjZ, Oradea, Romania, 2016.