Launching WESTWOLF and a new comparative study of Eurasian lynx

The WESTWOLF project aims to extend our research on large carnivores by investigating morphological variation across European wolf populations. Building on previous work carried out on French wolves, the project will broaden the geographical scale of the dataset to explore how population history, geography and environmental conditions may have contributed to shaping cranial morphology across Europe.

Initiated by Emmanuelle HUET, this collaborative project brings together Colline BRASSARD, Narimane CHATAR, Margot MICHAUD and Melvin VANKELST bringing together complementary expertise across veterinary medicine, ecology, evolutionary biology, palaeontology and comparative anatomy.

In parallel, we are launching a new comparative study on the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), focusing on populations established or reinforced through reintroduction and subsequent dispersal in Western Europe. In particular, the project will investigate cranial and mandibular variation in lynx from the French Jura and compare them with populations from Central and Eastern Europe, including the regions from which reintroduced animals originated.

Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx carpathicus) in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany. Carpathian-origin animals such as this one represent the same founder stock as the reintroduced populations of the Jura and Vosges.  Photo: Aconcagua, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Using CT imaging, 3D reconstruction and geometric morphometrics, we aim to quantify variation in skull and mandible shape and explore whether population history has left detectable morphological signatures. When suitable imaging data are available, the project will also extend to the endocranial cavity, allowing us to investigate potential variation in brain morphology through virtual endocasts.

3D surface scans of the skulls of a grey wolf (Canis lupus) and a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)

Beyond individual specimens, one of the main goals of these projects is to progressively build a comparative 3D reference dataset for European large carnivores, bringing together material from museum collections, wildlife monitoring programmes and veterinary networks. These data will support research in comparative anatomy and evolutionary morphology while also providing new reference material for studies of wild carnivore populations.

The WESTWOLF project is developed as a continuation of the MORPHOLOUP project, initially launched by VetAgro Sup, Oniris and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) to investigate morphological variation in French wolf populations.