I am an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, and a Faculty Affiliate with the University of Montana, U.S. Please see the links below to view pages highlighting work by my group. Together with me, the Postdoctoral fellows, and the PhD and Master students in my lab have a strong focus on landscape ecology, genetics and wildlife management. Recently, with some students I am also focusing on human dimensions in wildlife management issues. With other students again, I am studying wildlife movements and their reaction to people using multi-agent models.

Currently, I am analyzing ecological data on wolves and their prey, which was gathered throughout Northern and Western Canada. I am Principal Investigator or co-PI on a number of projects with hundreds of Global Positioning System (GPS) collars deployed on elk, caribou, moose, wolves and other wildlife species throughout the Rocky Mountains and Foothills regions of Canada. All such projects are focused on impact assessment, mainly of forestry and oil and gas development.

Typically, I have published papers on a number of applied ecology journals, which also include articles on wildlife ecology and management in Poland, Italy, Canada and the U.S.. Recently, I have also participated in interdisciplinary and glamorous studies published in journal such as Nature and Science. Finally, I have published a couple of books on wolves with the University of Calgary Press.

I organized the World Wolf Congress 2003 in Banff, Canada. I often serve as reviewer for research and management projects such as the Wolf Reintroduction Programs in the North-western and the South-western U.S., and act as a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (to protect livestock from wolves).

Selected Work

Papers in Journal Articles and Books in the last 12 months:

Musiani, M., Boitani, L., and Paquet, P.C. editors (2010). The World of Wolves: new perspectives on ecology, behaviour and management. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB. 312 pages.
Musiani, M., Boitani, L., and Paquet, P.C. (2010). Research Projects Highlight Unique Mechanisms and Some Common Patterns in Wolf Ecology and Management. Pages 1-20 in The World of Wolves: new perspectives on ecology, behaviour and management. Musiani, Boitani, Paquet, editors. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB.
VonHoldt, B.M., Pollinger, J.P., Lohmueller, K.E., Han, E., Parker, H.G., Quignon, P., Degenhardt, J.D., Boyko, A.R., Earl, D.A., Auton, A., Reynolds, A., Bryc, K., Brisbin, A., Knowles, J.C., Mosher, D.S., Spady, T.C., Elkahloun, A., Geffen, E., Pilot, M., Jedrzejewski, W., Greco, C., Randi, E., Bannasch, D., Wilton, A., Shearman, J., Musiani, M., Cargill, M., Jones, P.G., Qian, Z., Huang, W., Ding, Z.L., Zhang, Y-P., Bustamante, C.D., Ostrander, E.A., Novembre, J., Wayne, R.K., Genome-wide SNP and haplotype analyses reveal a rich history underlying dog domestication, Nature, 2010, In Press.
Muhly, T., Alexander, M., Boyce, M.S., Creasey, R., Hebblewhite, M., Paton, D., Pitt, J. and M. Musiani (2010) Elk respond more strongly to wolf predation risk than cattle. Oikos, In Press.
DeCesare, N. J., Hebblewhite, M., Robinson, H. and M. Musiani (2010). Endangered, apparently: the role of apparent competition in endangered species conservation. Animal Conservation, In Press.
Muhly, T., C. C. Gates and M. Musiani (2010) Husbandry practices reduce wolf depredation risk in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Pages 242-273 in The World of Wolves: new perspectives on ecology, behaviour and management. Musiani, Boitani, Paquet, editors. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB.
Musiani, M., Boitani, L., and Paquet, P.C. editors (2009). A New Era for Wolves and People: Wolf Recovery, Human Attitudes and Policy. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB. 239 pages.
Musiani, M., Boitani, L., and Paquet, P.C. (2009). Recovering wolf populations produce new trends in human attitudes and policy. Pages 1-12 in The World of Wolves: new perspectives on ecology, behaviour and management. Musiani, Boitani, Paquet, editors. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB.
Barsh, G.S., Anderson, T.M., Vonholdt, B.M., Candille, S.I., Musiani, M., Stahler, D.R., Leonard, J.A., Padhukasahasram, B., Randi, E., Bustamante, C.D., Ostrander, E.A., Tang, H., Wayne, R.K., Response-How the gray wolf got its color. Science, 2009. 325(5936): p. 33-4; author reply 34.
Anderson, T. M., vonHoldt, B. M., Candille, S. I., Musiani, M., Greco, C., Stahler, D. R., Smith, D. W., Padhukasahasram, B., Randi, E., Leonard, J. A., Bustamante, C. D., Ostrander, E. A., Tang, H., Wayne, R. K. and G. S. Barsh (2009). Molecular and evolutionary history of melanism in North American gray wolves. Science 323: 1339-1343.
Cluff, H.D., Paquet, P.C., Walton, L.R. and M. Musiani (2009) Wolf ecology and management in Northern Canada. Perspectives from the Rennie Lake wolf hunt. Pages 135-163 in The World of Wolves: new perspectives on ecology, behaviour and management. Musiani, Boitani, Paquet, editors. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB.
Hebblewhite, M., White, C.A. and M. Musiani (2009) Revisiting extinction in protected areas: Is it acceptable for mountain caribou to go extinct in a National Park? Conservation Biology 00: 000-000.
McDevitt, A. D., ., Mariani, S., Hebblewhite, M., DeCesare, N. J., Morgantini, L., Seip, D., Weckworth, B. V. and M. Musiani (2009). Survival in the Rockies of an endangered hybrid swarm from diverged caribou (Rangifer tarandus) lineages. Molecular Ecology 18: 665-679.
Muhly, T., and M. Musiani (2009) Livestock depredation by wolves and the ranching economy in the Northwestern U.S.. Ecological Economics 68: 2439-2450.