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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Assessing the Taxonomic Status of the Red Wolf and the Mexican Gray Wolf
Summary:
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Board on Life Sciences (BLS) and Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) are seeking experts for a new study committee to determine if the Red wolf is a taxonomically valid species and if the Mexican gray wolf is a taxonomically valid subspecies. The committee will summarize the relevant science about the Red wolf and Mexican gray wolf, including research on the animals’ evolutionary history and genetic diversity. BANR and BLS are seeking experts in evolutionary biology, population biology, phylogenetics and taxonomy, genetics and genomics, and other disciplines.
Taxonomic classifications of animals can have important implications for conservation efforts, and new genetic techniques are enabling scientists to distinguish organism groups at finer degrees of resolution than ever before. As part of a March 29, 2018 appropriation bill, Congress directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to obtain an independent assessment on the taxonomic status of the Red Wolf and the Mexican gray wolf. Currently, FWS considers the Red Wolf a valid taxonomic species and the Mexican gray wolf a valid taxonomic subspecies. Both are listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. A scientific literature review, including genetics research, will be published as part of the study.
Statement of Task:
At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint an ad hoc committee to conduct an independent analysis of scientific literature to answer the following two questions:
- Is the Red wolf a taxonomically valid species?
- Is the Mexican gray wolf a taxonomically valid subspecies?
The committee will summarize the relevant science about the Red wolf and Mexican gray wolf, including research on the animals’ evolutionary history and genetic diversity. The committee will deliver its findings and conclusions in a brief report divided into two sections, one for the red wolf and one for the Mexican gray wolf.
Sponsor:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Deadline:
Please submit nominations by July 8, 2018