"Two distinct populations of grey wolves have been found living side-by-side in British Columbia, Canada. The research built on the knowledge of indigenous people who had distinguished between the mainland "timber wolf" and island "coastal wolf". Scientists compared DNA from wolf faeces to determine if the two groups were different. They say their findings show that different environments can influence genetic changes. The team, based at the University of Victoria, reported their research in the journal BMC Ecology." - Jessie

"Team member Dr Chris Darimont, Hakai-Raincoast professor at the University of Victoria, said discussions with Heiltsuk elder Chester Starr led to the prediction on which their work was based. "He (Mr Starr) asked if we were going to study the 'timber wolves' of the mainland or the 'coastal wolves of the islands'," Dr Darimont said. "I thought that was peculiar because the state of science at the time told us that there really shouldn't be differences within wildlife populations across such a short distance, especially as wolves are fantastic swimmers. "Chester explained that timber wolves are creatures of the mainland, who liked the more mountainous habitat and the plentiful deer and other terrestrial foods, but the island wolves were smaller seafood lovers. He knew they were different."" - Jessie

{"But the elder's idea did not fit well with the current understanding of wolf biology and the researchers initially dismissed it. Since then, evidence has shown genetic differences within closely-occurring populations of sea turtles, fish and mammals, including wolves. The team went on to study 116 individual grey wolves living in the Bella, Bella area and identified a genetic difference between mainland and island wolves. "As scientists we should be sceptical, not dismissive. Earlier in my career, I had assumed that ecological knowledge could only come from science. I was wrong, and it's exciting to learn from this and similar experiences with indigenous colleagues," Dr Darimont said. " - Jessie