Integrating effects of hunting policy, catastrophic events, and inbreeding depression, in PVA simulation: the Scandinavian wolf population as an example

Focusing on the wolf Canis lupus in Scandinavia as an example, criteria are proposed and an analysis performed to assess the effect on extinction risk of various control policies, while accounting simultaneously for effects of inbreeding depression and potential catastrophic events. Each control policy is characterized by a hunting pressure (the increase caused by hunting of annual mortality rates) combined with a hunting threshold (the population size below which hunting is not permitted). Catastrophes are taken into account by including the persistence of a severe catastrophe in the criterion for population viability. Based on these criteria, the results suggest that only a very limited amount of hunting should be permitted at low population sizes. The results also illustrate the importance of including a long-term perspective in modelling threatened populations.