scholarly journals Factors Affecting Pregnancy in Free-ranging Elk, Cervus elaphus nelsoni, in Michigan

2009 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Piasecke ◽  
Louis C. Bender ◽  
Stephen M. Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Pregnancy Rates ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Age Class ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Free Ranging

Uncertainty exists as to which factors are most closely related to probability of pregnancy in Elk (Cervus elaphus), which thresholds are key for managers who want to assess the potential productivity of free-ranging Elk herds, and whether these thresholds vary among populations. We examined relationships among pregnancy, age, and mass for 513 harvested free-ranging Elk in Michigan, and compared relationships with other published models and with thresholds derived from other free-ranging and penned populations to see if relationships were consistent among populations. Pregnancy rates varied (chi22 = 136.3; P < 0.0001) among yearling (0.30), prime-aged (2.5-11.5-year-olds; 0.88), and old (> 12.5-year-olds; 0.60) cows. Probability of pregnancy in adult cows was related to mass (chi2 = 7.4; P = 0.006), age (chi2 = 12.6; P = 0.0004) and age class (chi2 = 16.4; P < 0.0001), but not to lactation status (chi2 = 0.4; P = 0.515); pregnancy was also positively related (chi2 = 15.8; P < 0.0001) to mass in yearlings. Probability of pregnancy increased 1.02× and 1.04× for each 1 kg increase in body mass of adult and yearling cows, respectively, and prime-aged cows were 4.9× more likely to conceive than old cows. Compared to thresholds derived primarily from penned or farmed Elk, both adult and yearling free-ranging Elk in Michigan and elsewhere were able to achieve higher levels of pregnancy at lower body mass. Thresholds also varied among free-ranging Elk populations. Given variation among populations, managers should calibrate mass-pregnancy relationships for their respective populations to determine whether condition is potentially limiting pregnancy in their populations.

EFFICACY OF ANTEMORTEM RECTAL BIOPSIES TO DIAGNOSE AND ESTIMATE PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN FREE-RANGING COW ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS NELSONI)

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Monello ◽  
Jenny G. Powers ◽  
N. Thompson Hobbs ◽  
Terry R. Spraker ◽  
Katherine I. O’Rourke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rectal Biopsies ◽  
Estimate Prevalence ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals PrP genotypes of free-ranging wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) with chronic wasting disease

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 1324-1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Perucchini ◽  
Karen Griffin ◽  
Michael W. Miller ◽  
Wilfred Goldmann
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Gene Sequence ◽  
Chronic Wasting Disease ◽  
Wasting Disease ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Genotype Frequencies ◽  
The Family ◽  
Free Ranging

Variation in PrP prion gene sequence appears to modulate susceptibility to chronic wasting disease (CWD), a naturally occurring prion disease affecting four North American species of the family Cervidae. Wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) PrP is polymorphic at codon 132 [methionine (M) or leucine (L)]. We genotyped 171 samples, collected between 2002 and 2005 from CWD-infected and uninfected wapiti from three free-ranging populations in Colorado, USA, to study influences of PrP polymorphisms on CWD susceptibility further. Overall genotype frequencies for 124 apparently uninfected animals were 65.3 % MM132, 32.3 % ML132 and 2.4 % LL132; for 47 CWD-infected animals, these frequencies were 70.2 % MM132, 27.7 % ML132 and 2.1 % LL132. Surprisingly, our data revealed that, among recent (approx. 2002–2005) CWD cases detected in free-ranging Colorado wapiti, the three PrP codon 132 genotypes were represented in proportion to their abundance in sampled populations (P≥0.24) and all three genotypes showed equivalent susceptibility to infection.

scholarly journals Factors affecting reproduction and population growth in a restored elk Cervus elaphus nelsoni population

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery L. Larkin ◽  
David S. Maehr ◽  
John J. Cox ◽  
Michael W. Wichrowski ◽  
R. Daniel Crank
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni

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.

scholarly journals Effects of GonaCon immunocontraceptive vaccine in free-ranging female Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni)

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 650-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny G. Powers ◽  
Ryan J. Monello ◽  
Margaret A. Wild ◽  
Terry R. Spraker ◽  
James P. Gionfriddo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Rocky Mountain Elk ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Immunocontraceptive Vaccine

Nutritional influences on breeding dynamics in elk

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel C Cook ◽  
Dennis L Murray ◽  
John G Cook ◽  
Peter Zager ◽  
Steven L Monfort
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Pregnancy Rates ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Body Fat Content ◽  
Nutritional Influences ◽  
Nutritional Restriction ◽  
Free Body ◽  
Inadequate Nutrition ◽  
Hormone Excretion

Nutrition in summer and early autumn may influence pregnancy rates and recruitment in ungulate herds in temperate regions, yet this influence on the reproductive endocrinology of wild ungulates is poorly understood. We examined the effects of 3 levels of summer–autumn nutrition on timing of breeding, pregnancy rates, and concentration of fecal progestagens (P4) in 30 captive female elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). Digestible energy (DE) content for females on the high-nutrition treatment was maintained at 12.35 kJ/g, while DE content for females on the medium- and low-nutrition treatments was gradually reduced to 10.89 and 9.42 kJ/g, respectively, by the end of the breeding season (all feed was offered ad libitum) to mimic the natural decline in forage quality during summer and autumn. In addition, we used three females as a control; they were maintained on a high-nutrition diet and kept separate from a bull. Based on fecal P4 concentrations and visual observations, 90, 90, and 10% of the elk on the high-, medium-, and low-nutrition treatments bred, respectively. Nutritional restriction delayed breeding by an average of 8 and 28 days in the medium- and low-nutrition animals. Females in the low- and medium-nutrition treatments excreted significantly higher P4 concentrations prior to breeding than did animals in the high-nutrition treatment. Diet failed to affect P4 concentration during pregnancy, but we found evidence that P4 concentrations were positively correlated with body condition (ingesta-free body fat content) during early gestation. Females that did not breed failed to exhibit estrous behavior, and hormone-excretion profiles confirmed that these animals failed to ovulate. These results suggest that inadequate nutrition in summer and autumn reduce pregnancy rates by preventing estrus and ovulation rather than by inducing early-embryo mortality.

Movement and Activity Patterns of Translocated Elk (Cervus elaphus Nelsoni) on an Active Coal Mine in Kentucky

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. O. Olsson ◽  
J. Cox ◽  
J. Larkin ◽  
D. Maehr ◽  
P. Widén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni ◽  
Active Coal
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