Update: Scientists studying grey wolves in Yellowstone national park have developed a method to predict how animals will respond to Climate Change

""We now have the tools to determine how wolves would react to climate change," said Tim Coulson, a professor of life sciences at Imperial College London, who led the study. "With any luck, in the future we can apply the methods developed from the wolves down to small mites or to large herbivores." The study used data that is already routinely collected on radio-collared wolves to get a glimpse of some basic responses to a changing environment – population numbers, genetics, body size, and the timing of key events in the wolf life cycle, such as when they first have pups. It also took account of changing genetics in the wolves' coats. Unlike in Europe, the grey wolves of Yellowstone actually have black or grey coats. Research scientists from the US department of the interior, Utah State University and the University of California travelled over the park by helicopter, tracking wolf packs. They shot the wolves from the air with darts, before descending to weigh them and take blood samples. The scientists collected more than a decade's worth of data from the 280 wolves living in the park."

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