Dietary niche relationships among cervids relative to winter snowpack in northwestern Montana

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1397-1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt J. Jenkins ◽  
R. Gerald Wright
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Dietary Overlap ◽  
The North ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Northwestern Montana ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Dietary Niche ◽  
Deciduous Shrubs ◽  
Niche Relationships

We compared diets of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus ochrourus), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and Shiras moose (Alces alces shirasi) during two winters in the North Fork of the Flathead Valley, Montana. Diets of white-tailed deer contained the greatest proportions of low-lying evergreen shrubs, as well as high proportions of coniferous browse. Elk selected greater proportions of grasses than did white-tailed deer or moose, whereas moose consumed the greatest proportion of deciduous shrubs. Deep snow in 1982 increased the similarity of diets chosen by white-tailed deer, elk, and moose. In 1982, white-tailed deer and elk consumed more total browse, and moose more coniferous browse, as deep snow covered the preferred forages. Increased dietary overlap and energy limitations suggested a potential for interspecific competition during harsh winters.

scholarly journals Detection of PrPCWDin Postmortem Rectal Lymphoid Tissues in Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry R. Spraker ◽  
Thomas L. Gidlewski ◽  
Aru Balachandran ◽  
Kurt C. VerCauteren ◽  
Lynn Creekmore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Lymphoid Tissues ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk

Use of Acepromazine and Medetomidine in Combination for Sedation and Handling of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) and Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 979-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa L. Wolfe ◽  
Heather E. Johnson ◽  
Mark C. Fisher ◽  
Michael A. Sirochman ◽  
Benjamin Kraft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Ursus Americanus ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk

Context dependence of elk (Cervus elaphus) vigilance and wolf (Canis lupus) predation risk

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 727-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Eisenberg ◽  
David E. Hibbs ◽  
William J. Ripple ◽  
Hal Salwasser
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
National Park ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
The North ◽  
Edge Group ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Complex Picture

To assess the relationship between predation risk perceived by elk (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) as evidenced by vigilance, we conducted focal animal observations in elk winter range. We stratified our observations in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, and Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada, in valleys with three wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) population levels (Saint Mary Valley: no wolf; Waterton Valley: moderate wolf; North Fork Valley: high wolf). Although the lowest elk vigilance occurred in Saint Mary and the highest in the North Fork, our analysis revealed a complex picture. Our model included distance to forest edge, group size, distance to road, social class, and impediments to detecting and escaping wolves. In Saint Mary, none of the variables were significant. In Waterton, vigilance decreased as elk group size increased (p < 0.00001) and increased as impediments increased (p = 0.0005). In the North Fork, vigilance increased as group size increased (p = 0.03), bulls were more vigilant (p = 0.02), and the interaction between group size and impediments was significant (p = 0.03). Where a high wolf population existed, elk did not exhibit uniform or expected response to predation risk factors. High wolf presence may necessitate adaptive elk behaviour that differs from response to moderate wolf presence.

Preliminary Observations on the Experimental Transmission of Scrapie to Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) by Intracerebral Inoculation

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Hamir ◽  
J. M. Miller ◽  
R. C. Cutlip ◽  
M. J. Stack ◽  
M. J. Chaplin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Intracerebral Inoculation ◽  
Negative Stain ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Gross Lesions ◽  
The One

To determine the transmissibility of scrapie to Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus elaphus nelsoni), six elk calves were inoculated intracerebrally with brain suspension from sheep naturally affected with scrapie. One elk developed a brain abscess and was euthanatized at 7 weeks postinoculation (PI), and two others died at 6 and 15 months PI because of physical injuries. At 25 and 35 months PI, two other elk died after brief terminal neurologic episodes. Necropsy of these revealed moderate weight loss but no other gross lesions. Microscopically, characteristic lesions of spongiform encephalopathy were seen throughout the brains and the spinal cords, and in both cases these tissues were positive for PrPres by immunohistochemistry. Brains of both animals were positive for PrPres by western blot and for scrapie-associated fibrils (SAFs) by negative stain electron microscopy. PrPres and SAFs were not detected in the three elk that died or were euthanatized because of coincidental causes. Over 3.5 years after initiation of this experiment, the one remaining inoculated elk and two uninoculated (control) elk are alive and apparently healthy. These preliminary findings demonstrate that 1) sheep scrapie agent can be transmitted to elk by intracerebral inoculation; 2) the infection can result in severe, widely distributed spongiform change and accumulations of PrPres in the central nervous system (CNS); and 3) based on the examination of a limited number of CNS sections from two cases, this condition cannot be distinguished from chronic wasting disease with currently available diagnostic techniques.

scholarly journals Transmission of Elk and Deer Prions to Transgenic Mice

2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (18) ◽  
pp. 9104-9114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gültekin Tamgüney ◽  
Kurt Giles ◽  
Essia Bouzamondo-Bernstein ◽  
Patrick J. Bosque ◽  
Michael W. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prion Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Prion Diseases ◽  
Mule Deer ◽  
Transmitted Disease ◽  
Wild Type Mouse ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Odocoileus Hemionus ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Free Ranging

ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease in deer and elk. Unique among the prion diseases, it is transmitted among captive and free-ranging animals. To facilitate studies of the biology of CWD prions, we generated five lines of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing prion protein (PrP) from Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), denoted Tg(ElkPrP), and two lines of Tg mice expressing PrP common to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), denoted Tg(DePrP). None of the Tg(ElkPrP) or Tg(DePrP) mice exhibited spontaneous neurologic dysfunction at more than 600 days of age. Brain samples from CWD-positive elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer produced disease in Tg(ElkPrP) mice between 180 and 200 days after inoculation and in Tg(DePrP) mice between 300 and 400 days. One of eight cervid brain inocula transmitted disease to Tg(MoPrP)4053 mice overexpressing wild-type mouse PrP-A in ∼540 days. Neuropathologic analysis revealed abundant PrP amyloid plaques in the brains of ill mice. Brain homogenates from symptomatic Tg(ElkPrP) mice produced disease in 120 to 190 days in Tg(ElkPrP) mice. In contrast to the Tg(ElkPrP) and Tg(DePrP) mice, Tg mice overexpressing human, bovine, or ovine PrP did not develop prion disease after inoculation with CWD prions from among nine different isolates after >500 days. These findings suggest that CWD prions from elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer can be readily transmitted among these three cervid species.

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