BILLINGS, Mont. — The killing during hunting season of two collared wolves will affect a study examining wolf pack dynamics in and around Yellowstone National Park, a park biologist says.

Doug Smith, the Yellowstone Wolf Project leader for the wolf reintroduction program, said the killing of the Cottonwood Pack's 7-year-old alpha female and her collared 2-year-old daughter means the pack's movements are no longer being tracked for the study by the park.

The alpha female, known as 527F, was popular among Yellowstone's wolf watchers for her exploits in the Lamar Valley. The Cottonwood Pack's alpha male and a 5-month-old pup were also shot.

"It just so happens that it falls in the northern region of the park's wolf population where we have the best data," Smith said. "It's our best study area. It does affect the situation a little bit more."

Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the loss of the two collared wolves — from a population perspective — is insignificant considering the park has 120 wolves.

"It's not a big deal," Bangs said. "Certainly from a research standpoint, you'd like them all to stay alive."

Wolf 527F had been collared for five years and provided information about lifetime reproductive successes of breeding females.

Last winter, she joined with other wolves and her daughter in a new region and in the spring had four pups within a mile of a popular hiking trail. The wolves were visible from the Hellroaring overlook, making 527F again a favorite among park visitors.

She was killed Oct. 3 during Montana's inaugural wolf hunting season just outside the park. It's unclear what has become of the rest of the pack.

"Typically the pack splits up" when the alpha wolves are killed, said Smith. "That's what's happened in the past."

Smith said the pack is of interest because it occupies an area that has seen four different packs in 12 years, and researchers are trying to figure out why.

Smith said he still supports the Montana wolf hunting season, but would like to see some changes. He said the season should be moved later in the year to when the remote terrain around Yellowstone would be more difficult to access.

He also said he was surprised at how easily wolves, nine in all, were shot in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

"They (the wolves) got caught off guard," Smith said. "Part of this dealt with the naivete of the animals."

Carolyn Sime, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the agency will consider changing hunting regulations in the region next fall considering how easily wolves were hunted there this year.

"The bottom line is there will be an adjustment," she said.