DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mgqnk99cw
title: Gulf coast canids: A wetland coyote ecotype shaped by red wolf introgression

description: Morphology and behavior are fundamental components of ecology because
 phenotypic variation influences the distribution and abundance of species,
 interspecific interactions, and community assemblages. Hybridization and
 introgression can increase phenotypic variation when novel traits
 accompany new genetic variants. Assessing the adaptive role of
 introgression requires linking increased phenotypic variation to
 ecologically relevant population processes such as reproduction, survival,
 emigration, and immigration. Recent research confirmed significant red
 wolf (Canis rufus) ancestry in coyote (Canis latrans) populations along
 the coastal region of the Texas-Louisiana border, USA, where the last
 known red wolves existed prior to their extirpation from the wild. Coyotes
 in this region are referred to as ‘Gulf Coast canids’ by some because the
 magnitude and impact of the observed introgression is not well understood
 yet. We conducted a phenotypic assessment of Gulf Coast canids to explore
 whether these canids are red wolf-coyote hybrids, or a wetland ecotype of
 the coyote formed during the coyote’s initial colonization of the
 southeastern United States. We concluded that Gulf Coast canids are a
 wetland ecotype of the coyote derived from a mid-20th century red
 wolf-coyote hybrid swarm. Our assessment indicates that Gulf Coast canids
 are tall, lanky coyotes with post-cranial traits similar to red
 wolf-coyote hybrids. However, their head sizes are coyote-like. Gulf Coast
 canids exhibited strong selection for wetland land cover such as large
 river floodplains and coastal saltwater wetlands limiting their potential
 distribution to the coastal wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico. We observed
 little use of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and significant
 use of nutria (Myocastor coypus) by Gulf Coast canids, food habits that
 differ significantly from those of the surrounding coyote populations.
 Finally, high annual survival rates indicate that Gulf Coast canids could
 potentially be a source population and responsible for the persistence of
 red wolf ancestry in coyotes along coastal Texas and Louisiana.
description: # Gulf coast canids: A wetland coyote ecotype shaped by red wolf
 introgression Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.mgqnk99cw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mgqnk99cw) ##
 Description of the data and file structure This study focused on a series
 of objectives designed to acquire data on coyote morphology, spatial
 ecology, survival, and diet in southwestern Louisiana. The specific
 objectives were to: 1\) assess coyote morphology, 2\) assess coyote space
 use to identify areas where territories were established, 3\) assess and
 compare habitat selection of resident and transient coyotes, 4\) estimate
 and compare survival of resident and transient coyotes, 5\) preliminary
 assessment of diet of resident coyotes. ### Files and variables #### File:
 01._Gulf_Coast_canid_captures.xlsx **Description:** This file includes
 dates of capture of study animals, morphometrics, and duration of
 monitoring. Cells with missing data are marked as “N/A” (not available).
 ##### Variables * Field ID: ID given to Gulf Coast canids at time of
 captured and used by field biologists. * Lab ID: ID given to Gulf Coast
 canids by geneticists after receiving tissue from field biologists. * Sex:
 Sex of Gulf Coast canids. * Parish/County: Parish or county Gulf Coast
 canid was captured in. * Tissue sample: Indicates if sample was taken (Y =
 yes, N = no). * Ancestry reported: Discloses where ancestry estimates were
 made publicly. * Age at capture (months): Estimated age of Gulf Coast
 canids at time of capture. * Wt (kg): Weight/body mass of Gulf Coast
 canids reported in kilograms. * SL (cm): Skull length of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * SW (cm): Skull width of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * BL (cm): Body length of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * TA (cm): Tail length of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * SH (cm): Shoulder height of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * HF (cm): Hind foot length of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * EA (cm): Ear length of Gulf Coast canids
 reported in centimeters. * Start: Date of when telemetry monitoring began
 for Gulf Coast canids. * End: Date of when telemetry monitoring ended for
 Gulf Coast canids. * Days monitored: Total days Culf Coast canids were
 monitored with GPS collars. #### File: 02._Canid_morphometrics_full.xlsx
 **Description:** This file includes morphometrics recorded from Gulf Coast
 canids, red wolves, coyotes, and red wolf-coyote hybrids. Cells with
 missing data are marked as “N/A” (not available). ##### Variables *
 Species: Taxonomic classification of canid (Gulf Coast canid, red wolf,
 coyote, red wolf-coyote hybrid). * ID: Field ID given to canid. * Sex: Sex
 of canid (male/female). * Age: Estimated age class of canid (pup,
 juvenile, adult). * Year: Year of capture. * Location: Region were canids
 were captured (NENC = northeastern NC, LA = Louisiana). * Wt (kg):
 Weight/body mass of canids reported in kilograms. * EA (cm): Ear length of
 canids reported in centimeters. * TA (cm): Tail length of canids reported
 in centimeters. * BL (cm): Body length of canids reported in centimeters.
 * TBL (cm): Total body length (TA+BL) of canids reported in centimeters. *
 HF (cm): Hind foot length of canids reported in centimeters. * SH (cm):
 Shoulder height of canids reported in centimeters. * SL (cm): Skull length
 of canids reported in centimeters. * SW (cm): Skull width of canids
 reported in centimeters. #### File: 03._Canid_morphometrics_PCA.xlsx
 **Description:** This file includes the subset of morphometrics recorded
 from Gulf Coast canids, red wolves, and red wolf-coyote hybrids used in
 our PCA. ##### Variables * Same variables as in File 02, except for PC
 scores. * PC1: First principal component scores acquired from PCA. * PC2:
 Second principal component scores acquired from PCA. * PC3: First
 principal component scores acquired from PCA. #### File:
 05._Gulf_Coast_canid_space_use.xlsx **Description:** This file includes
 long/lats on all the Gulf Coast canids monitored during our study. #####
 Variables * ID: ID given to Gulf Coast canids at time of captured. *
 Status: Space use status assigned to the canid and it's estimated
 space use. * Status ID: ID + status * KDE_95: 95% kernel density estimate
 reported in square kilometers. * KDE_50: 50% kernel density estimate
 reported in square kilometers. * Locoh_95: 95% local convex hull estimate
 reported in square kilometers. * Locoh_50: 50% local convex hull estimate
 reported in square kilometers. * Tlocoh_95: 95% time local convex hull
 estimate reported in square kilometers. * Tlocoh_50: 50% time local convex
 hull estimate reported in square kilometers. * aKDE_95: 95% adaptive
 kernel density estimate reported in square kilometers. * aKDE_50: 50%
 adaptive kernel density estimate reported in square kilometers. #### File:
 06._Gulf_Coast_canid_scats.xlsx **Description:** This file includes space
 use estimates of Gulf Coast canids calculated with four commonly used home
 range estimators (kernel density estimators, local convex hulls, time
 local convex hulls, and adaptive kernel density estimators). #####
 Variables * ScatID: Field ID given to scats when collected. * Data: Date
 scats were collected. * Pack: Territory of pack scats were collected and
 assigned. * Area: Study area where scats were collected. * Freq.Deer:
 Occurrence of white-tailed deer observed in scats (1=present, 0=absent). *
 Freq.Small: Occurrence of small mammals observed in scats (1=present,
 0=absent). * Freq.Rabbit: Occurrence of rabbits observed in scats
 (1=present, 0=absent). * Freq.Plant: Occurrence of plants observed in
 scats (1=present, 0=absent). * Freq.Pig: Occurrence of pig observed in
 scats (1=present, 0=absent). * Freq.Nutria: Occurrence of nutria observed
 in scats (1=present, 0=absent). #### File:
 04._Gulf_Coast_canid_telemetry.xlsx **Description:** This file includes
 frequency of occurrence of prey items for individual scats collected from
 Gulf Coast canid territories. ##### Variables * ID: Field ID for Gulf
 Coast canid * DateTime: Date and time of location. * Latitude: Latitude of
 location. * Longitude: Longitude of location. #### File:
 07a-f._Gulf_Coast_canid_RSF_07a-f.xlsx **Description:** These six files
 consist of the use and random locations along with the landscape
 predictors used in our resource selection functions. ##### Variables * ID:
 Field ID + status. * Use: Use (1) and random location (0). * Resident:
 Resident (1) vs transient (0). * Biomass: Mean aboveground biomass
 (lg/acre) * HumDen: Human population density (people/sq.km) *
 dist(m)_SmRiver: Distance to small river floodplains reported in meters. *
 dist(m)_SaltCoastal: Distance to saltwater coastal marsh reported in
 meters. * dist(m)_Roads: Distance to roads reported in meters. *
 dist(m)_LgRiver: Distance to large river floodplains reported in meters. *
 dist(m)_FRCoastal: Distance to freshwater coastal marsh reported in
 meters. ## Code/software We used the following software: QGIS v. 3.28.1 R
 version 4.4.3 and packages: T-LoCoH, lme4 ## Access information Other
 publicly accessible locations of the data: * N/A Data was derived from the
 following sources: * N/A