Publications

metagenomic survey for viruses in western arctic caribou, alaska, through iterative assembly of taxonomic units.	pathogen surveillance in animals does not provide a sufficient level of vigilance because it is generally confined to surveillance of pathogens with known economic impact in domestic animals and practically nonexistent in wildlife species. as most (re-)emerging viral infections originate from animal sources, it is important to obtain insight into viral pathogens present in the wildlife reservoir from a public health perspective. when monitoring living, free-ranging wildlife for viruses, sample c ...	2014	25140520
a nearctic parasite in a palearctic host: parelaphostrongylus andersoni (nematoda; protostrongylidae) infecting semi-domesticated reindeer in alaska.	parelaphostrongylus andersoni is a muscle-dwelling protostrongylid nematode that infects caribou and white-tailed deer across north america, and can cause significant muscular and pulmonary pathology in these species. we collected 44 fecal samples from semi-domesticated reindeer (rangifer tarandus tarandus) from the kakarak herd of western seward peninsula, alaska, usa. this herd has no record of historical contact and extremely limited possibility of contemporary contact with native grant's car ...	2013	24533324
defining parasite biodiversity at high latitudes of north america: new host and geographic records for onchocerca cervipedis (nematoda: onchocercidae) in moose and caribou.	onchocerca cervipedis is a filarioid nematode of cervids reported from central america to boreal regions of north america. it is found primarily in subcutaneous tissues of the legs, and is more commonly known as 'legworm'. blackflies are intermediate hosts and transmit larvae to ungulates when they blood-feed. in this article we report the first records of o. cervipedis from high latitudes of north america and its occurrence in previously unrecognized host subspecies including the yukon-alaska m ...	2012	23110962
evidence of alphaherpesvirus infections in alaskan caribou and reindeer.	the reindeer (rangifer tarandus tarandus) industry in alaska began with animals imported from siberia (russia) in the 1890's. cervid herpes virus 2 (cvhv2) is endemic in reindeer in scandinavia. we sought to determine if the same virus, or similar herpesviruses, were circulating in alaskan reindeer and caribou (rangifer tarandus granti). serum samples from 292 reindeer were collected during annual reindeer handlings (1988-2005) near nome, alaska. in 2005, swab samples were collected from 40 calv ...	2012	22243919
molecular identification of taenia spp. in wolves (canis lupus), brown bears (ursus arctos) and cervids from north europe and alaska.	taenia tapeworms of finnish and swedish wolves (canis lupus) and finnish brown bears (ursus arctos), and muscle cysticerci of svalbard reindeer (rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), alaskan grant's caribou (rangifer tarandus granti) and alaskan moose (alces americanus) were identified on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of a 396bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene. two species were found from wolves: taenia hydatigena and taenia krabbei. the cysticerci of reindeer, ...	2011	21571090
glucocorticosteroid concentrations in feces and hair of captive caribou and reindeer following adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge.	climate change and industrial development are contributing to synchronous declines in rangifer populations across the arctic. chronic stress has been implicated as a proximate factor associated with decline in free-ranging populations, but its role in rangifer is unspecified. analysis of glucocorticosteroid (gc) concentration in feces, and more recently in hair, is a non-invasive method for monitoring stress in wildlife. adrenocorticotropic hormone (acth) released from the pituitary gland stimul ...	2011	21501613
allocating protein to reproduction in arctic reindeer and caribou.	reindeer (rangifer tarandus tarandus) and caribou (rangifer tarandus granti) use body stores (capital) and food intake (income) for survival and reproduction. intakes of low-nitrogen (n) food declined in winter and increased in spring (51-83 g dry matter kg(-0.75) d(-1)). reindeer calved before regaining food intake, whereas caribou calved 28 d later. body n was conserved by minimizing oxidation of amino acid n to urea. maternal protein stored from early winter was used for 96% of fetal growth i ...	2008	18702605
mitochondrial dna and microsatellite dna variation in domestic reindeer (rangifer tarandus tarandus) and relationships with wild caribou (rangifer tarandus granti, rangifer tarandus groenlandicus, and rangifer tarandus caribou).	reindeer (rangifer tarandus tarandus) in alaska are semidomestic livestock descended from 1280 animals introduced from siberia, russia, approximately 100 years ago. genetic variation at 18 microsatellite dna loci and the cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial dna (mtdna) was quantified in reindeer from alaska, siberia (russia), and scandinavia and compared with wild north american caribou. mean sequence divergence among 15 mtdna haplotypes in reindeer was 0.007 substitutions per nucleotide site, and ...	2006	16837563
further observations on rangiferine brucellosis in alaskan carnivores.	antibodies against rangiferine brucellosis, brucella suis type 4, are commonly found in the serum of various domestic and wild alaskian carnivores which feed on caribou, rangifer tarandus granti, arctic alaska. sled dogs from five native villages on the range of the artic caribou herd, but not from two villages on the the range of the porcupine caribou herd, are commonly infected. wolves (canis lupus) and red foxes (vulpes fulva) are less commonly infected. about 90% of the grizzly bears (ursus ...	1975	1113440