hey, cory! :--)
i believe the introduction of
black coats from dom-dogs to wolves was relatively recent -
Biologists solve mystery of black wolves / UCLA Newsroom
Quote:
EXCERPT -
They suspect the transfer took place sometime before the arrival of Europeans to North America and involved dogs that were here with Native Americans.
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since early-human immigrants are estimated to have arrived approx 15k years ago, this is a big chunk of time; they could probably narrow it down by checking the speed of gene-mutation in associated alleles, but that would not be cheap. if they could back-track it thru inherited mitochondria, that would be a lot less expensive!
evolution is not something that happens only over geological time - millenia - but happens incrementally, every day, in any new generation. the studies of the Galapagos finches are the best illustration of the on-going tinkering of evolutionary mechanisms.
the cumulative changes from those tiny alterations, or a sudden abrupt leap, are seen over larger time-frames.
other recent evolution in wolves is clear, but bodes badly -
ETA - http://tinyurl.com/yfsnrvd
unfortunately, among the best evolutionary examples in wolves are the wolves of Isle Royale, which is isolated from the mainland by rapid currents of the river, and the health + function of the resident wolf-popn is being rapidly undermined by the genetic bottleneck.
this is the single most-researched and best known wolf-popn in this hemisphere.
they are debating bringing in un-related Ms from the mainland, but naturally this is controversial.
introducing pups into a wolf family is easy - all adults are thrilled by puppies, nobody cares where they came from,
or whose they were. so that would be simple -
but many feel that introducing an adult or young-adult who has dispersed from their natal pack, is a better option;
they are essentially proven survivors, at least for 2 to 3 years age.
this would mean some degree of upheaval and possibly fights or injuries - much more fraught than the unrelated-pups option.
all my best,
--- terry