alphas(shadowRanger question)

[wolf567]

According to this book I bought sometime ago, Spirit of the Wolf written by Shaun Ellis, a wolf's rank can be determined by the boldness of their markings once the rank has been established for sometime. Shaun Ellis said that alphas have the boldest markings, betas have bold and broken markings, and those below have markings that are more faded. I'm guessing this is because different ranks eat different parts of a large carcass and different amounts. I haven't found information on this anywhere else but I believe Shaun Ellis to be a reliable source.
What are your thoughts on this?

[ShadowRanger]

lol thanks, I realized shortly after I posted it that it should probably be over here.

[WQ Project Coordinator]

The answer is similar to whether or not darker wolves are the dominant wolves. http://www.wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=600

There is no scientific backing that shows that coat coloring has any influence on pack status. Pack status for the dominant pair is due to them being the parents of the pack.

[coyote]

i think it was saying that the wolves have different coloring because they're the alphas (and eat different things from the rest of the pack), not that they're the alphas because they have different coloring...

[WQ Project Coordinator]

The markings on a wolf are not due to their diet. They might have a healthier coat, but it won't change the color or markings.