Melanistic Coyotes in Northwest Georgia
Abstract
Melanism is rare in Canis latrans (Coyote), but we detected the phenotypic trait several times in northwest Georgia. We observed up to 9 melanistic Coyotes during a 9-year period, 2003–2012: 5 from trail-camera photographs, 2 from live-captures during a radio-telemetry study, and 2 from hunter-kills. The ancestry of southeastern Coyotes is unclear, and we suggest that a genetic study including melanistic individuals could increase understanding of the potential influence of C. lupus (Gray Wolf), C. rufus (Red Wolf) and/or C. lupus familiaris (Domestic Dog) on the Coyote's genetic makeup and evolutionary history.
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Increased hybridization of coyotes on the East coast with domestic dogs and wolves may promote variation in pelage coloration.
“This may be due to the increased hybridization of coyotes on the East coast with domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and wolves (Canis lupus) promoting a variation in pelage coloration (Gipson, 1976;Anderson et al., 2009;Mowry & Edge, 2014;Caudill & Caudill, 2015;Hody & Kays, 2018).”
From Of Rarity and Symbolism: Understanding Human Perceptions of Charismatic Color Morphs (2024) · cites this paper as Mowry & Edge, 2014
While coyotes are found in nearly all ecosystems in North America, observations of melanistic coyotes are uncommon.
“While coyotes are found in nearly all ecosystems in North America (Mowry & Edge, 2014;Caudill & Caudill, 2015;Hody & Kays, 2018), observations of melanistic coyotes are uncommon.”
From Of Rarity and Symbolism: Understanding Human Perceptions of Charismatic Color Morphs (2024) · cites this paper as Mowry & Edge, 2014
Cites
The Adaptive Significance of Coloration in Mammals
CARO, T. (2005) · BioScience · doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0125:tasoci]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 589 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Introduction - nism in mammals, although physiological functions have also been hypothesized (Caro 2005).”
BackgroundGipson, P. S. (1976) · The Southwestern Naturalist · doi:10.2307/3670332 · Cited by 9 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Melanism was more common in C. rufus Audubon & Bachman (Red Wolf) populations, and the trait was once used to distinguish Red Wolves from Coyotes where the two species overlapped (Gipson 1976, Halloran 1958).”
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Of Rarity and Symbolism: Understanding Human Perceptions of Charismatic Color Morphs
Williams, T. D., Kreling, S. E. S., Stanton, L. A., Wilkinson, C. E., Estien, C. O., Schell, C. J., & Carlen, E. J. (2024) · Human Ecology · doi:10.1007/s10745-024-00492-7 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“In North America, squirrels and deer cause varying amounts of damage to urban infrastructure, residential housing, and agriculture, requiring costly management (Flyger et al., 1983; Conover, 2001; McCleery et al., 2007).”
InfluentialMelanism of Coyotes (Canis latrans) in Florida
Caudill, G., & Caudill, D. (2015) · The American Midland Naturalist · doi:10.1674/0003-0031-174.2.335 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Saleh, M., Younes, M., Sarhan, M., & Abdel-Hamid, F. (2018) · doi:10.1080/09397140.2018.1475117 · Cited by 8
“The occurrence of at least some of these colours has been suggested to be adaptive (Gipson et al., 2002; Anderson et al., 2009; Mowry & Edge, 2014; Caudill & Caudill, 2015).”
BackgroundHinton, J. W., West, K., Sullivan, D., Frair, J., & Chamberlain, M. J. (2022) · BMC Zoology · doi:10.1186/s40850-022-00138-5 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“However, melanism occurs in contemporary coyote (Canis latrans) populations that replaced red wolves throughout the Southeast [22, 24, 25].”
BackgroundInfluentialMowry, C. B., Wilson, L. A., & vonHoldt, B. M. (2021) · Diversity · doi:10.3390/d13080372 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Mowry, C. B., & Edge, J. L.
- Affiliations
- Berry College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mowry, Christopher B.
- Venue
- Southeastern Naturalist
- Publisher
- Humboldt Field Research Institute
- Published
- 2014-06-01
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 280
- ISSN
- 1528-7092 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2005649383
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 0.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Southeastern Naturalist (publishedVersion)
- BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Berry College
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
- Keywords
- melanism, coyote, coat color variation, gray wolf, red wolf, dogs, northwest Georgia
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