The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) has launched an innovative project titled "Environment for Life - Genetic Monitoring of the Wolf (2024-2026)" aimed at developing advanced genetic monitoring techniques for the grey wolf, a key species in Central European ecosystems.
As a top predator, the grey wolf is a key species in many ecosystems around the world. Human perceptions of it can then be controversial, ranging from a flagship and umbrella types of conservation to negative perceptions in pastoral communities. The urgent need to address and mitigate this polarization perceived by many stakeholders makes this species in many ways a model species.
The MEGERA (Molecular Ecology, Genetics and Evolutionary Research of Animals) research team working at the FTZ is involved in this prestigious project with the aim to develop genetic monitoring of the wolf, which provides indispensable information in describing the recolonization of Central Europe and in mitigating conflict with humans.
As the wolf phenotype can be confused with the dog and does not allow easy individual identification, it is an essential tool for verifying species affiliation, possibly verifying hybridisation with the dog and determining abundance. The data are also used in the study of the genealogy and viability of the population and the study of the spatial ecology of the species. Genetics is also an indispensable tool in the analysis of livestock attacks and forensic cases. Harmonisation of the genetic markers used allows cross-border comparisons. The needs of nature conservation institutions and the social topicality of the topic, including its politicization and tabloidization, require routinization, automation and acceleration of these procedures, which requires deeper cooperation between primary research institutions and the applied sphere.
Principal investigator is the Faculty of Science of Charles University, the co-investigator is the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, and the application guarantor is Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA).
The project aims to streamline and automate genetic procedures through close cooperation between research institutions and the applied sphere and this work is expected to set new standards for genetic monitoring in wildlife conservation, with the potential to influence policy and public perception of the grey wolf across Europe.
