scholarly journals Spatial Clustering by Red Deer and Its Relevance for Management of Chronic Wasting Disease

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1272
Author(s):  
Atle Mysterud ◽  
Isa Nergård Skjelbostad ◽  
Inger Maren Rivrud ◽  
Øystein Brekkum ◽  
Erling L. Meisingset
Keyword(s):  
Red Deer ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Agricultural Fields ◽  
Spatial Clusters ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Anthropogenic Food Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Food

Herbivores like cervids usually graze on widely scattered forage, but anthropogenic food sources may cause spatial revisitation and aggregation, posing a risk for transmission of infectious diseases. In 2016, chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first detected in Norway. A legal regulation to ban supplemental feeding of cervids and to fence stored hay bales was implemented to lower aggregation of cervids. Knowledge of further patterns and causes of spatial revisitation can inform disease management. We used a recently developed revisitation analysis on GPS-positions from 13 red deer (Cervus elaphus) to identify the pattern of spatial clustering, and we visited 185 spatial clusters during winter to identify the causes of clustering. Anthropogenic food sources were found in 11.9% of spatial clusters, which represented 31.0% of the clusters in agricultural fields. Dumping of silage and hay bales were the main anthropogenic food sources (apart from agricultural fields), and unfenced hay bales were available despite the regulation. The probability of the clusters being in agricultural fields was high during winter. It may be necessary to find other ways of disposing of silage and enforcing the requirement of fencing around hay bales to ensure compliance, in particular during winters with deep snow.

scholarly journals Failure To Detect Prion Infectivity in Ticks following Prion-Infected Blood Meal

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald A. Shikiya ◽  
Anthony E. Kincaid ◽  
Jason C. Bartz ◽  
Travis J. Bourret
Keyword(s):  
Prion Disease ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Lymphoid Tissues ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Prion Infection ◽  
Prion Infectivity

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging and fatal contagious prion disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, red deer reindeer, elk, and moose. CWD prions are widely distributed throughout the bodies of CWD-infected animals and are found in the nervous system, lymphoid tissues, muscle, blood, urine, feces, and antler velvet. The mechanism of CWD transmission in natural settings is unknown. Potential mechanisms of transmission include horizontal, maternal, or environmental routes. Due to the presence of prions in the blood of CWD-infected animals, the potential exists for invertebrates that feed on mammalian blood to contribute to the transmission of CWD. The geographic range of the Rocky Mountain Wood tick, Dermancentor andersoni, overlaps with CWD throughout the northwest United States and southwest Canada, raising the possibility that D. andersoni parasitization of cervids may be involved in CWD transmission. We investigated this possibility by examining the blood meal of D. andersoni that fed upon prion-infected hamsters for the presence of prion infectivity by animal bioassay. None of the hamsters inoculated with a D. andersoni blood meal that had been ingested from prion-infected hamsters developed clinical signs of prion disease or had evidence for a subclinical prion infection. Overall, the data do not demonstrate a role for D. andersoni in the transmission of prion disease. IMPORTANCE Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging prion disease that affects cervids, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, red deer reindeer, elk, and moose. The mechanism of CWD transmission in unknown. Due to the presence of prions in the blood of CWD-infected animals, it is possible for invertebrates that feed on cervid blood to contribute to the transmission of CWD. We examined the blood meal of D. andersoni, a tick with a similar geographic range as cervids, that fed upon prion-infected hamsters for the presence of prion infectivity by animal bioassay. None of the D. andersoni blood meals that had been ingested from prion-infected hamsters yielded evidence of prion infection. Overall, the data do not support a role of D. andersoni in the transmission of prion disease.

scholarly journals Legal regulation of supplementary cervid feeding facing chronic wasting disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (8) ◽  
pp. 1667-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atle Mysterud ◽  
Hildegunn Viljugrein ◽  
Erling J. Solberg ◽  
Christer M. Rolandsen
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Wasting Disease

scholarly journals Visitation rate and behavior of urban mesocarnivores differs in the presence of two common anthropogenic food sources

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 895-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tad C. Theimer ◽  
Anthony C. Clayton ◽  
Alexa Martinez ◽  
Damon L. Peterson ◽  
David L. Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Food Sources ◽  
Visitation Rate ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Anthropogenic Food Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Food

scholarly journals The Diet of Foxes and the Availability of Anthropogenic Food on Prince Edward Island, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. p16
Author(s):  
Marina Silva-Opps ◽  
Whitney Kelly-Clark ◽  
Sheldon Opps
Keyword(s):  
Prince Edward Island ◽  
National Park ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Minor Component ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Natural Food ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Anthropogenic Food Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Food

It has been postulated that red foxes (Vulpesvulpes) inhabiting Prince Edward Island National Park (Canada) make very little use of natural food sources and that anthropogenic food play an integral part in their diet. The use of anthropogenic food sources has also been associated with an increased number of fatal fox vehicle-collisions in the park. The main goal of this study was to examine the composition of the diet of foxes inhabiting Prince Edward Island National Park and to compare this diet with foxes found in other areas of the island. In particular, we examined the importance of anthropogenic food items in foxes inhabiting the national park. We analyzed 38 stomachs from foxes killed by trappers or vehiclesduring late fall and early winter within and outside the national park. Our results showed that rodents and vegetation were the most common food items present in fox stomachs whether the animals were obtained from within or outside the park. Values of coefficient of variation of food items found in fox stomachs indicated a great diversity in diet composition. However, only six stomachs contained anthropogenic food items. Stomachs of foxes killed by vehicles contained twice the amount of anthropogenic food items than those that were collected from trappers. Overall, our findings indicate that anthropogenic food items are only a minor component in the diet of foxes occurring within the park, at least during the period of time examined in this study. Future studies should examine diet composition during other seasons when the quantity and quality of anthropogenic food sources is different. 

scholarly journals A case of chronic wasting disease in a captive red deer (Cervus elaphus)

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 573-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc D. Schwabenlander ◽  
Marie R. Culhane ◽  
S. Mark Hall ◽  
Sagar M. Goyal ◽  
Paul L. Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Wasting Disease

First Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease in a Wild Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Turid Vikøren ◽  
Jørn Våge ◽  
Knut I. Madslien ◽  
Knut H. Røed ◽  
Christer M. Rolandsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Wasting Disease

scholarly journals Effects of Anthropogenic Food Sources on Movements, Survivorship, and Sociality of Common Ravens in the Arctic

The Condor ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Restani ◽  
John M. Marzluff ◽  
Richard E. Yates
Keyword(s):  
Human Population ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Corvus Corax ◽  
Winter Climate ◽  
Anthropogenic Food Sources ◽  
Anthropogenic Food

Abstract We investigated survivorship, movements, and sociality of Common Ravens (Corvus corax) exploiting concentrated food resources at a landfill in Greenland. From 1992–1995 we banded 383 ravens: 365 were captured at the landfill and 18 were banded in nearby nests. Thirty-nine ravens were recovered, most by shooting (87%). Mean number of days survived post-banding (494 ± 97) did not differ among age groups, but a higher proportion of juveniles was recovered. Ravens migrated west and south to the coast during winter. No difference existed among age groups in mean distance between locations of banding and recovery (151 ± 31 km). Number of ravens congregating at the landfill declined during the study, coinciding with a decrease in the local human population. Harsh winter climate, limited ice-free land, and abundant human refuse influenced raven use of the wilderness landscape by facilitating the formation of large, nomadic foraging groups.

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