| wave-like patterns of plant phenology determine ungulate movement tactics. | animals exhibit a diversity of movement tactics [1]. tracking resources that change across space and time is predicted to be a fundamental driver of animal movement [2]. for example, some migratory ungulates (i.e., hooved mammals) closely track the progression of highly nutritious plant green-up, a phenomenon called "green-wave surfing" [3-5]. yet general principles describing how the dynamic nature of resources determine movement tactics are lacking [6]. we tested an emerging theory that predic ... | 2020 | 32619482 |
| retrospective investigation of echinococcus canadensis emergence in translocated elk (cervus canadensis) in tennessee, usa, and examination of canid definitive hosts. | few reports of echinococcus spp. have been described in the usa; however, the geographical distribution of echinococcus spp. in wild hosts is increasing consequent to human activities. in the early 2000's, 253 elk (cervus canadensis) originating from alberta, canada were released into the great smoky mountains national park and north cumberland wildlife management area in an effort to re-establish their historical range. | 2020 | 32605660 |
| further information on diseases of wapiti. | | 1991 | 17423910 |
| the susceptibility of canadian wapiti to ryegrass staggers. | | 1985 | 16031187 |
| widespread distribution of ticks and selected tick-borne pathogens in kentucky (usa). | the geographical distribution of ixodes scapularis and amblyomma maculatum ticks is poorly understood in kentucky. we conducted a convenience survey of wildlife species (white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus), elk (cervus canadensis) and black bears (ursus americanus)) for ticks from october 2015 to january 2017. we detected four tick species including amblyomma americanum, dermacentor albipictus, i. scapularis and a. maculatum. although the former two tick species were previously known to b ... | 2018 | 29502988 |
| context-dependent effects of a reintroduced ungulate on soil properties are driven by soil texture, moisture, and herbivore activity. | although there is considerable evidence that large mammalian herbivores influence ecosystem-level processes, studies have reported such widely varying results that generalizations have remained elusive. here, we use an 18-year-old exclosure experiment-stratified across a landscape heterogeneous with respect to soil texture, moisture and herbivore activity-to understand the variable effects of tule elk (cervus canadensis nannodes), a native reintroduced herbivore, on soil properties along the coa ... | 2020 | 33072301 |
| identification of velvet antler by random amplified polymorphism dna combined with non-gel sieving capillary electrophoresis. | mitochondrial dna of velvet antler was amplified with random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) technique and the pcr products were detected with non-gel sieving capillary electrophoresis to establish a rapd-hpce method used for identifying the authenticity of velvet antler or it counterfeits. factors that could affect the pcr amplification and capillary electrophoresis were optimized. under the optimized conditions, namely, 20 mmol l(-1) nah2po4-na2hpo4-2 mmol l(-1) edta buffer solution [0.8% (w/ ... | 2016 | 25103424 |
| using white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) in infectious disease research. | between 1940 and 2004, more than 335 emerging infectious disease events were reported in the scientific literature. the majority (60%) of these events involved zoonoses, most of which (72%) were of wildlife origin or had an epidemiologically important wildlife host. because this trend of increasing emerging diseases likely will continue, understanding the pathogenesis, transmission, and diagnosis of these diseases in the relevant wildlife host is paramount. achieving this goal often requires usi ... | 2017 | 28724483 |
| meningeal worm (parelaphostrongylus tenuis) as a cause of mortality in the restored elk (cervus canadensis) population in missouri. | meningeal worm (parelaphostrongylus tenuis) is an important cause of mortality of elk (cervus canadensis) in populations in the eastern us and has been implicated in the failure of several restoration attempts. from 2011 to 2013, the missouri department of conservation translocated 108 adult and yearling elk from kentucky (us) to southern missouri (us) to establish a free-ranging population. from release in spring 2011 through august 2015, we monitored 167 elk (adult, yearling, and calf) to dete ... | 2017 | 28820300 |
| routes and doses of lignocaine hydrochloride for analgesia of the velvet antler of stags. | to evaluate the effectiveness of various routes of administration and doses of local anaesthetic to provide analgesia of the velvet antler of young stags. | 1999 | 16032097 |
| female elk contacts are neither frequency nor density dependent. | identifying drivers of contact rates among individuals is critical to understanding disease dynamics and implementing targeted control measures. we studied the interaction patterns of 149 female elk (cervus canadensis) distributed across five different regions of western wyoming over three years, defining a contact as an approach within one body length (-2 min). using hierarchical models that account for correlations within individuals, pairs, and groups, we found that pairwise contact rates wit ... | 2013 | 24279278 |
| pigmented chin papillomas in red (cervus elaphus) x wapiti (cervus canadensis) stags associated with a novel papillomavirus. | lesions were observed on the chins of two 2- to 3-year-old red (cervus elaphus) x wapiti (cervus canadensis) stags from the lower north island of new zealand during velvet removal. | 2014 | 24224490 |
| detection of cwd in cervids by rt-quic assay of third eyelids. | the diagnosis of chronic wasting disease (cwd) relies on demonstration of the disease-associated misfolded cwd prion protein (prpcwd) in brain or retropharyngeal lymph node tissue by immunodetection methods, e.g. elisa and immunohistochemistry (ihc). the success of these methods relies on a quality sample of tissues, which requires both anatomical knowledge and considerable dissection to collect. as the prevalence of cwd continues to increase globally, the development of fast and cost-effective ... | 2019 | 31461493 |
| inferential consequences of modeling rather than measuring snow accumulation in studies of animal ecology. | it is increasingly common for studies of animal ecology to use model-based predictions of environmental variables as explanatory or predictor variables, even though model prediction uncertainty is typically unknown. to demonstrate the potential for misleading inferences when model predictions with error are used in place of direct measurements, we compared snow water equivalent (swe) and snow depth as predicted by the snow data assimilation system (snodas) to field measurements of swe and snow d ... | 2013 | 23734491 |
| ovarian follicular and luteal dynamics in wapiti during the estrous cycle. | the reproductive tracts of 13 mature hinds were examined daily by transrectal ultrasonography and blood samples were taken daily from october to january to characterize follicular, luteal, and endocrine dynamics in wapiti during the estrous season. follicle development occurred in waves characterized by regular, synchronous development of a group of follicles in temporal succession to a surge in serum fsh concentration. the mean interovulatory interval was 21.3 +/- 0.1 d, but was shorter in hind ... | 2006 | 16009414 |
| outcome of limb amputations in wapiti: 13 cases (1995-2001). | the object of this investigation was to determine the outcome of limb amputation in wapiti. medical records of 13 wapiti that underwent limb amputation were reviewed to determine age, weight, sex, injury preceding amputation, limb amputated, amputation location, length of hospital stay, complications, and outcome. ages ranged from 3 months to 8 years and weights from 70 kg to 280 kg. all animals were female. eleven animals sustained catastrophic long bone fractures prior to amputation. five anim ... | 2001 | 11769619 |
| whole-genome sequencing of tarim red deer (cervus elaphus yarkandensis) reveals demographic history and adaptations to an arid-desert environment. | the initiation of desert conditions in the tarim basin in china since the late miocene has led to the significant genetic structuring of local organisms. tarim red deer (cervus elaphus yarkandensis, trd) have adapted to the harsh environmental conditions in this basin, including high solar radiation and temperature, aridity, and poor nutritional conditions. however, the underlying genetic basis of this adaptation is poorly understood. | 2020 | 33072165 |
| genetic analyses of the parasitic nematode, parelaphostrongylus tenuis, in missouri and kentucky reveal unexpected levels of diversity and population differentiation. | wildlife translocations, which involve the introduction of naive hosts into new environments with novel pathogens, invariably pose an increased risk of disease. the meningeal worm parelaphostrongylus tenuis is a nematode parasite of the white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus), which serves as its primary host and rarely suffers adverse effects from infection. attempts to restore elk (cervus canadensis) to the eastern us have been hampered by disease caused by this parasite. using dna sequence ... | 2020 | 33054876 |
| within-population diversity of bacterial microbiomes in winter ticks (dermacentor albipictus). | the bacterial microbiome of ticks is notoriously diverse, but the factors leading to this diversity are poorly understood. we sequenced bacterial 16s rrna amplicons from individual winter ticks, dermacentor albipictus, to assess whether their one-host life cycle is associated with reduced bacterial diversity. on average, about 100 bacterial genera were found for individual ticks. francisella-like endosymbiont (fle) dominated bacterial communities, particularly in female ticks and in ticks that h ... | 2020 | 32993944 |
| isolation of viable toxoplasma gondii, molecular characterization, and seroprevalence in elk (cervus canadensis) in pennsylvania, usa. | toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis. the ingestion of uncooked/undercooked meat and consumption of water contaminated with toxoplasma gondii oocysts excreted by felids are the main modes of transmission of this parasite. t. gondii has been reported in multiple cervid species; however, little is known of the parasite in north american elk (cervus canadensis). in the present study, antibodies to t. gondii were detected in serum of wild elk from pennsylvania collected during 2013-2016 by the modi ... | 2017 | 28807274 |
| the anatomy of vocal divergence in north american elk and european red deer. | loud and frequent vocalizations play an important role in courtship behavior in cervus species. european red deer (cervus elaphus) produce low-pitched calls, whereas north american elk (cervus canadensis) produce high-pitched calls, which is remarkable for one of the biggest land mammals. both species engage their vocal organs in elaborate maneuvers but the precise mechanism is unknown. vocal organs were compared by macroscopic and microscopic dissection. the larynx is sexually dimorphic in red ... | 2013 | 23225193 |
| myxosarcoma in a wapiti. | myxosarcoma was diagnosed in an adult male wapiti (cervus canadensis) from western colorado. the neoplasm was located on the medial aspect of the right thigh and had extensively infiltrated adjacent soft tissue. | 1979 | 480522 |
| embryonal nephroma in a wapiti. | ebryonal nephroma was diagnosed in a young, free-ranging female wapiti (cervus canadensis) from the san juan national forest in southwestern colorado. metastases were found in the lung. | 1979 | 225574 |
| a retrospective summary of cervid morbidity and mortality in ontario and nunavut regions of canada (1991-2017). | free-ranging cervids in canada face diverse threats such as climate change, human population expansion, and the northward spread of vector-borne pathogens. however, we currently have a limited understanding of the impacts of these health challenges in ontario cervids. our objective was to identify and characterize causes of morbidity and mortality in free-ranging cervids submitted to the ontario and nunavut node of the canadian wildlife health cooperative (cwhc) over a 27-yr period (1991 to 2017 ... | 2020 | 32348201 |
| an improved understanding of ungulate population dynamics using count data: insights from western montana. | understanding the dynamics of ungulate populations is critical given their ecological and economic importance. in particular, the ability to evaluate the evidence for potential drivers of variation in population trajectories is important for informed management. however, the use of age ratio data (e.g., juveniles:adult females) as an index of variation in population dynamics is hindered by a lack of statistical power and difficult interpretation. here, we show that the use of a population model ... | 2019 | 31869366 |
| multiple innate antibacterial immune defense elements are correlated in diverse ungulate species. | in this study, we aimed to evaluate to what extent different assays of innate immunity reveal similar patterns of variation across ungulate species. we compared several measures of innate antibacterial immune function across seven different ungulate species using blood samples obtained from captive animals maintained in a zoological park. we measured mrna expression of two receptors involved in innate pathogen detection, toll-like receptors 2 and 5 (tlr2 and 5), the bactericidal capacity of plas ... | 2019 | 31774834 |
| integrating livestock management and telemetry data to assess disease transmission risk between wildlife and livestock. | overlap of cattle and wild elk ranges in southwestern alberta foothills is an opportunity for inter-species interactions. to assess the spatio-temporal patterns of disease transmission risk between cattle and elk, several risk indexes were defined to represent different transmission routes. risk indexes were estimated by combining elk telemetry data obtained from 168 gps-collared elk, and cattle management information obtained by interviews conducted in 16 cow-calf operations overlapping the elk ... | 2020 | 31765959 |
| high seroprevalence but low rate of isolation of toxoplasma gondii from wild elk (cervus canadensis) in pennsylvania. | toxoplasma gondii infections are prevalent in most warm-blooded animals worldwide. during the 2018 november hunting season in pennsylvania, fresh (unfixed, not frozen) samples obtained from 99 harvested elk (cervus canadensis) were tested for t. gondii infection. antibodies to t. gondii were detected in 69 of 99 (69.7%) elk tested by the modified agglutination test (mat, 1:25 cut-off). tongues and hearts from 16 elk with high mat titers (>1:200) were bioassayed for t. gondii by inoculation in ou ... | 2019 | 31738124 |
| cellular distribution of the prion protein in palatine tonsils of mule deer (odocoileus hemionus) and rocky mountain elk (cervus elaphus nelsoni). | chronic wasting disease (cwd) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (tse) that affects members of the cervidae family, including deer (odocoileus spp.), elk (cervus canadensis spp.), and moose (alces alces spp.). while cwd is a neurodegenerative disease, lymphoid accumulation of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein (prpsc) is detectable early in the course of infection. it has been shown that a large portion of the prpsc lymphoid accumulation in infected mule deer takes place on the ... | 2019 | 31548473 |
| winter tick (dermacentor albipictus)-associated dermatitis in a wild elk (cervus canadensis) in pennsylvania, usa. | in 2017, a male elk (cervus canadensis) was found dead in pennsylvania, us. the elk was in poor nutritional condition and had alopecia and ulcerative dermatitis throughout the neck and dorsum region associated with severe dermacentor albipictus infestations. histologically, there was severe chronic-active dermatitis with hyperkeratosis and crust formation. | 2020 | 31483708 |
| antibodies to epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (ehdv) in farmed and wild florida white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus). | the transmission of multiple serotypes of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (ehdv) between farmed and free-ranging wildlife is of interest to livestock industries and natural resource agencies. we compared the seroprevalence of ehdv-1, -2, and -6 in wild and farmed white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) herds in florida, us. we compared serological prevalence, circulating serotypes, antibody titers, and viremia with the use of 171 whole-blood samples from 150 unvaccinated white-tailed deer ... | 2020 | 31298969 |
| nutritional condition and physiological stress levels of elk in the black hills, south dakota. | percent of body fat and physiological stress are important correlates to wildlife demographics. we studied winter percent of body fat and physiological stress levels for a declining elk (cervus canadensis nelsoni) population in south dakota, 2011-2013. we obtained percent of winter body fat, pregnancy status, lactation status, and physiological stress data from 58 adult females (2+ years old). we compared physiological stress level data from 2011 with data collected from this same herd when elk ... | 2019 | 31293830 |
| cascading effects of mammalian herbivores on ground-dwelling arthropods: variable responses across arthropod groups, habitats and years. | large mammalian herbivores are well known to shape the structure and function of ecosystems world-wide, and these effects can in turn cascade through systems to indirectly influence other animal species. a wealth of studies has explored the effects of large mammals on arthropods, but to date they have reported such widely varying results that generalizations have been elusive. three factors are likely drivers of this variability: the widely varying life-history characteristics of different arthr ... | 2019 | 31135962 |
| assessment of a commercially available serum pregnancy-specific protein b test in free-ranging elk (cervus canadensis) in pennsylvania, usa. | uterine examinations provide an inexpensive and reliable postmortem alternative to monitor pregnancy rates in free-ranging elk (cervus canadensis). however, this technique may be insensitive during early pregnancies (i.e., <20 d postconception), relies on proper collection of tissues, and may not be comparable to antemortem approaches used throughout the rest of the year. to circumvent some of these issues, the sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available serum pregnancy-specific prot ... | 2019 | 31075050 |
| partial protection in balb/c house mice (mus musculus) and rocky mountain elk (cervus canadensis) after vaccination with a killed, mucosally delivered brucella abortus vaccine. | brucellosis, caused by brucella abortus, has been eliminated from livestock in the us. remaining wildlife reservoirs are the bison (bison bison) and elk (cervus canadensis) populations in yellowstone national park and the surrounding area, from which there is periodic exposure and transmission to surrounding livestock herds. elk account for nearly all of the livestock exposure, and the infection appears to be expanding in the elk population. currently, there are no known effective vaccines for b ... | 2019 | 31009310 |
| using genotyping-by-sequencing to predict gender in animals. | gender assignment errors are common in some animal species and lead to inaccuracies in downstream analyses. procedures for detecting gender misassignment are available for array-based snp data but are still being developed for genotyping-by-sequencing (gbs) data. in this study, we describe a method for using gbs data to predict gender using x and y chromosomal snps. from a set of 1286 x chromosomal and 23 y chromosomal deer (cervus sp.) snps discovered from gbs sequence reads, a prediction model ... | 2019 | 30957265 |
| native forage mediates influence of irrigated agriculture on migratory behaviour of elk. | ungulates migrate to maximize nutritional intake when forage varies seasonally. populations of ungulates often include both migratory and non-migratory individuals, but the mechanisms driving individual differences in migratory behaviour are not well-understood. we quantified associations between hypothesized drivers of partial migration and the likelihood of migration for individual ungulates that experienced a range of environmental conditions and anthropogenic influences. we evaluated the eff ... | 2019 | 30951200 |
| indirect effects of a large mammalian herbivore on small mammal populations: context-dependent variation across habitat types, mammal species, and seasons. | multiple consumer species frequently co-occur in the same landscape and, through effects on surrounding environments, can interact in direct and indirect ways. these interactions can vary in occurrence and importance, and focusing on this variation is critical for understanding the dynamics of interactions among consumers. large mammalian herbivores are important engineers of ecosystems worldwide, have substantial impacts on vegetation, and can indirectly affect small-mammal populations. however ... | 2018 | 30598804 |
| living with liver flukes: does migration matter? | migration is typically thought to be an evolved trait driven by responses to forage or predation, but recent studies have demonstrated avoidance of parasitism can also affect success of migratory tactics within a population. we evaluated hypotheses of how migration alters parasite exposure in a partially migratory elk (cervus canadensis) population in and adjacent to banff national park, alberta, canada. equal numbers of elk remain year-round on the winter range or migrate to summer range. we qu ... | 2020 | 32477863 |
| optimization and pretreatment for hot water extraction of korean deer (cervus canadensis erxleben) velvet antlers. | velvet antler (va) is a historically traditional medicinal supplement and is well known in asian countries for its pharmaceutical and health benefits. the objectives for this study were to optimize the hot water extraction (hwe) of va for the korean va industry, and to determine the most effective pretreatment method among microwave (mw), ultrasonication (us), and enzymatic (ez) techniques. using response surface methodology, optimum extraction temperatures and times were determined by central c ... | 2020 | 32423187 |
| an ex vivo brain slice culture model of chronic wasting disease: implications for disease pathogenesis and therapeutic development. | chronic wasting disease (cwd) is a rapidly spreading prion disease of cervids, yet antemortem diagnosis, treatment, and control remain elusive. we recently developed an organotypic slice culture assay for sensitive detection of scrapie prions using ultrasensitive prion seeding. however, this model was not established for cwd prions due to their strong transmission barrier from deer (odocoileus spp) to standard laboratory mice (mus musculus). therefore, we developed and characterized the ex vivo ... | 2020 | 32376941 |
| interactions between cleaner-birds and ungulates are personality dependent. | while a growing body of literature explores the ecological implications of consistent individual variation in the behaviour of wildlife, few studies have looked at the reciprocal influences of personality within interspecific interactions, despite the potentially significant impacts on biodiversity. here i used two species involved in cleaner-bird behaviour-black-billed magpies (pica pica) and rocky mountain elk (cervus canadensis)-to show that the exhibition of mutualistic behaviour can depend ... | 2017 | 29187607 |
| phenolic glycosides in populus tremuloides and their effects on long-term ungulate browsing. | in the aspen-grassland ecotone of riding mountain, manitoba, lightly browsed vigorous clones of trembling aspen (populus tremuloides michx.) occur in close proximity to heavily browsed dieback clones. this study examines whether intraspecific variation in the production of phenolic glycosides is correlated with this strong dichotomy in clonal vigor. individual clones were sampled over four years at three sites located along a gradient of increasing soil moisture stress. at each site, eight aspen ... | 2017 | 29064049 |
| hope and caution: rewilding to mitigate the impacts of biological invasions. | rewilding is a novel approach to ecological restoration. trophic rewilding in particular aims to reinstate ecological functions, especially trophic interactions, through the introduction of animals. we consider the potential for trophic rewilding to address biological invasions. in this broad review, we note some of the important conceptual and ethical foundations of rewilding, including a focus on ecosystem function rather than composition, reliance on animal agency, and an appeal to an ethic o ... | 2018 | 30348875 |
| molecular detection of babesia odocoilei in wild, farmed, and zoo cervids in ontario, canada. | babesia odocoilei, a tick-borne protozoan hemoparasite of white-tailed deer ( odocoileus virginianus), is being increasingly recognized as a cause of disease in captive cervids in north america. historically endemic in white-tailed deer, the natural wildlife reservoir in the southeastern us, b. odocoilei has been recently associated with hemolytic anemia in captive eurasian tundra reindeer ( rangifer tarandus tarandus), wapiti ( cervus canadensis), and woodland caribou ( rangifer tarandus caribo ... | 2019 | 30339101 |
| effects of brucellosis serologic status on physiology and behavior of rocky mountain elk ( cervus canadensis nelsoni) in southwestern montana, usa. | brucellosis, caused by bacteria in the genus brucella, is an infectious zoonosis affecting animals and humans worldwide. free-ranging rocky mountain elk ( cervus canadensis nelsoni) and bison ( bison bison) in the greater yellowstone ecosystem (areas of southwestern montana, eastern idaho, and northwestern wyoming, us) are the self-sustaining reservoirs of bovine brucellosis ( brucella abortus) and elk are considered the primary source of livestock infections. it has been hypothesized that bruce ... | 2019 | 30277828 |
| fire history influences large-herbivore behavior at circadian, seasonal, and successional scales. | recurrent environmental changes often prompt animals to alter their behavior leading to predictable patterns across a range of temporal scales. the nested nature of circadian and seasonal behavior complicates tests for effects of rarer disturbance events like fire. fire can dramatically alter plant community structure, with important knock-on effects at higher trophic levels, but the strength and timing of fire's effects on herbivores remain unclear. we combined prescribed fire treatments with f ... | 2018 | 30179283 |
| characterisation of the bacterial community in the gastrointestinal tracts of elk (cervus canadensis). | the resident bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract (git) and the behaviour of these microbes have been poorly characterised in elk as compared to other ruminant animal species such as sheep and cattle. in addition, most microbial community studies of deer gut have focused on rumen or faeces, while other parts of the git such as the small and large intestine have received little attention. to address this issue, the present study investigated the diversity of the git bacterial community in elk ( ... | 2019 | 30155662 |
| histopathological, morphological, and molecular characterization of sarcocystis species in elk (cervus elaphus) from pennsylvania, usa. | sarcocystis sarcocysts are common in many species of domestic and wild animals. here, we report sarcocystosis in muscles from 91 free range elk (cervus elaphus) from pennsylvania, usa, tested by histopathology, transmission electron microscopy (tem), and dna sequencing. sarcocysts were detected in hematoxylin and eosin (he)-stained sections from 83 of 91 (91.2%) elk, including 83/91 (91.2%) tongues and 15/17 (88.2%) hearts. with respect to age, sarcocysts were found in 0/5 calves, 8/9 (88.8%) ye ... | 2018 | 30120590 |
| potential bacillus anthracis risk zones for male plains bison ( bison bison bison) in southwestern montana, usa. | a re-emergence of anthrax, a zoonosis caused by the long-lived, spore-forming bacillus anthracis, occurred with a multispecies outbreak in southwestern montana, us in 2008. it substantially impacted a managed herd of about 3,500 free-ranging plains bison ( bison bison bison) on a large, private ranch southwest of bozeman, with about 8% mortality and a disproportionate 28% mortality of mature males; a similar high rate occurred in male rocky mountain elk ( cervus canadensis nelson). grazing herbi ... | 2019 | 30016211 |
| intermediate frequency of aversive conditioning best restores wariness in habituated elk (cervus canadensis). | in protected areas around the world, wildlife habituate to humans and human infrastructure, potentially resulting in human-wildlife conflict, and leading to trophic disruptions through excess herbivory and disconnection of predators from prey. for large species that threaten human safety, wildlife managers sometimes attempt to reverse habituation with aversive conditioning. this technique associates people as a conditioned stimulus with a negative, unconditioned stimulus, such as pain or fright, ... | 2018 | 29940021 |
| development of diagnostic snp markers to monitor hybridization between sika deer (cervus nippon) and wapiti (cervus elaphus). | sika deer (cervus nippon) and wapiti (cervus elaphus) are closely related species and their hybridization can result in significant allele-shift of their gene pool. additive genetic effects and putative heterotic effects of their hybridization on growth performance could confer considerable economic advantage in deer farming. here, we used double-digest restriction site-associated dna sequencing technology (ddrad-seq) and detected ∼320,000 genome-wide snps from 30 captive individuals: 7 sika dee ... | 2018 | 29789312 |
| cattle ( bos taurus) resist chronic wasting disease following oral inoculation challenge or ten years' natural exposure in contaminated environments. | we conducted a 10-yr study to establish whether chronic wasting disease (cwd) was readily transmissible to domestic cattle ( bos taurus) following oral inoculation or by cohousing cattle with captive cervids in outdoor research facilities where cwd was enzootic. calves ( n=12) were challenged orally on one occasion using brain homogenate derived from cwd-infected mule deer ( odocoileus hemionus). five uninoculated cattle served as unchallenged controls. two other groups of cattle ( n=10-11/group ... | 2018 | 29715064 |
| comparative analysis of prions in nervous and lymphoid tissues of chronic wasting disease-infected cervids. | the prevalence, host range and geographical bounds of chronic wasting disease (cwd), the prion disease of cervids, are expanding. horizontal transmission likely contributes the majority of new cwd cases, but the mechanism by which prions are transmitted among cwd-affected cervids remains unclear. to address the extent to which prion amplification in peripheral tissues contributes to contagious transmission, we assessed the prion levels in central nervous and lymphoreticular system tissues in whi ... | 2018 | 29580373 |
| winter feeding of elk in the greater yellowstone ecosystem and its effects on disease dynamics. | providing food to wildlife during periods when natural food is limited results in aggregations that may facilitate disease transmission. this is exemplified in western wyoming where institutional feeding over the past century has aimed to mitigate wildlife-livestock conflict and minimize winter mortality of elk (cervus canadensis). here we review research across 23 winter feedgrounds where the most studied disease is brucellosis, caused by the bacterium brucella abortus traditional veterinary pr ... | 2018 | 29531148 |
| consistent individual differences and population plasticity in network-derived sociality: an experimental manipulation of density in a gregarious ungulate. | in many taxa, individual social traits appear to be consistent across time and context, thus meeting the criteria for animal personality. how these differences are maintained in response to changes in population density is unknown, particularly in large mammals, such as ungulates. using a behavioral reaction norm (brn) framework, we examined how among- and within-individual variation in social connectedness, measured using social network analyses, change as a function of population density. we s ... | 2018 | 29494640 |
| introgression of exotic cervus (nippon and canadensis) into red deer (cervus elaphus) populations in scotland and the english lake district. | since the mid-19th century, multiple introductions of japanese sika deer (cervus nippon nippon) and north american wapiti (c. canadensis) have taken place in the british isles. while wapiti have generally been unsuccessful, sika have been very successful, especially in scotland where they now overlap at least 40% of the range of native red deer (c. elaphus). hybridization between these two species and red deer has been demonstrated in captivity and in the wild. using a panel of 22 microsatellite ... | 2018 | 29468030 |
| using spatial, economic, and ecological opinion data to inform gray wolf conservation. | public opinion can be an influential factor in wildlife management decisions. evaluating public opinions can help legitimize, or delegitimize, management and facilitate long-term conservation goals. this is especially true for the controversial issues surrounding the management of predators. we surveyed montana, usa, residents during summer of 2013 to measure public opinion regarding economic and ecological impacts of the gray wolf (canis lupus), and current management of this species. although ... | 2016 | 29706677 |
| detection of deer atadenovirus a dna in dam and offspring pairs of rocky mountain mule deer (odocoileus hemionus hemionus) and rocky mountain elk (cervus canadensis nelsoni). | adenovirus hemorrhagic disease affects primarily mule deer (odocoileus hemionus), white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus), rocky mountain elk (cervus canadensis nelsoni), and moose (alces alces) in their first year of life. the method by which the causative virus, deer atadenovirus a, is maintained in the environment and transmitted to neonates is unknown. in this study, we investigated the potential transmission of the virus from dam to offspring in rocky mountain mule deer (odocoileus hemio ... | 2021 | 33822152 |
| hidden cost of disease in a free-ranging ungulate: brucellosis reduces mid-winter pregnancy in elk. | demonstrating disease impacts on the vital rates of free-ranging mammalian hosts typically requires intensive, long-term study. evidence for chronic pathogens affecting reproduction but not survival is rare, but has the potential for wide-ranging effects. accurately quantifying disease-associated reductions in fecundity is important for advancing theory, generating accurate predictive models, and achieving effective management. we investigated the impacts of brucellosis (brucella abortus) on elk ... | 2018 | 30519402 |
| accelerated onset of chronic wasting disease in elk (cervus canadensis) vaccinated with a prpsc-specific vaccine and housed in a prion contaminated environment. | chronic wasting disease (cwd) is a fatal prion disease affecting multiple cervid species. effective management tools for this disease, particularly in free-ranging populations, are currently limited. we evaluated a novel cwd vaccine in elk (cervus canadensis) naturally exposed to cwd through a prion-contaminated environment. the vaccine targets a yyr disease-specific epitope to induce antibody responses specific to the misfolded (prpsc) conformation. female elk calves (n = 41) were captured from ... | 2018 | 30414779 |
| identification of moraxella lacunata from pulmonary abscesses in three zoo herbivores. | although moraxella lacunata causes conjunctivitis, keratitis, endocarditis, and otolaryngitis in humans, its infection is rare in animals. we report three cases of asymptomatic pulmonary abscesses caused by m. lacunata in zoo herbivores, including two elks (cervus canadensis) and a common eland (taurotragus oryx). in all cases, macroscopic findings included coalescence of lung lobes and severe pulmonary abscesses filled with cheese-like materials in cysts. microscopic findings included pneumonia ... | 2018 | 30369588 |
| the impact of rewilding, species introductions and climate change on the structure and function of the yukon boreal forest ecosystem. | community and ecosystem changes are happening in the pristine boreal forest ecosystem of the yukon for two reasons. first, climate change is affecting the abiotic environment (temperature, rainfall, growing season) and driving changes in plant productivity and predator-prey interactions. secondly, simultaneously change is occurring because of mammal species reintroductions and rewilding. the key ecological question is the impact these faunal changes will have on trophic dynamics. primary product ... | 2017 | 29168615 |
| chondroitin sulphate extracted from antler cartilage using high hydrostatic pressure and enzymatic hydrolysis. | chondroitin sulphate (cs), a major glycosaminoglycan, is an essential component of the extracellular matrix in cartilaginous tissues. wapiti velvet antlers are a rich source of these molecules. the purpose of the present study was to develop an effective isolation procedure of cs from fresh velvet antlers using a combination of high hydrostatic pressure (100 mpa) and enzymatic hydrolysis (papain). high cs extractability (95.1 ± 2.5%) of total uronic acid was obtained following incubation (4 h at ... | 2014 | 28626657 |