Parsing demographic effects of canine parvovirus on a Minnesota wolf population
Keywords:
Canine parvovirus, Canis lupus, CPV,, demography, population, survival, wolf.Abstract
We examined 35 years of relationships among wolf (Canis lupus) pup survival, population change and canine
parvovirus (CPV) seroprevalence in northeastern Minnesota to determine when CPV exerted its strongest
effects. Using correlation analysis of data from five periods of 7-years each from 1973 through 2007, we learned
that the strongest effect of CPV on pup survival (r = -0.73) and on wolf population change (r = -0.92) was during
1987 to 1993. After that, little effect was documented despite a mean CPV seroprevalence from 1994 of 2007 of
70.8% compared with 52.6% during 1987 to 1993. We conclude that after CPV became endemic and produced
its peak effect on the study population, that population developed enough immunity to withstand the disease.
