An integrative and multi-indicator approach for wildlife health applied to an endangered caribou herd

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dc.contributor.author
Aguilar, Xavier Fernandez
Leclerc, Lisa Marie
Mavrot, Fabien
Roberto-Charron, Amélie
Tomaselli, Matilde
Mastromonaco, Gabriela
Gunn, Anne
Pruvot, Mathieu
Rothenburger, Jamie L.
Thanthrige-Don, Niroshan
Jahromi, Elham Zeini
Kutz, Susan
dc.date.accepted
2023-08-30
dc.date.accessioned
2024-08-29T15:36:08Z
dc.date.available
2024-08-29T15:36:08Z
dc.date.issued
2023-10-02
dc.date.submitted
2023-02-15
dc.description.abstract - en
Assessing wildlife health in remote regions requires a multi-faceted approach, which commonly involves convenient samplings and the need of identifying and targeting relevant and informative indicators. We applied a novel wildlife health framework and critically assessed the value of different indicators for understanding the health status and trends of an endangered tundra caribou population. Samples and data from the Dolphin and Union caribou herd were obtained between 2015 and 2021, from community-based surveillance programs and from captured animals. We documented and categorized indicators into health determinants (infectious diseases and trace elements), processes (cortisol, pathology), and health outcomes (pregnancy and body condition). During a recent period of steep population decline, our results indicated a relatively good body condition and pregnancy rates, and decreasing levels of stress, along with a low adult cow survival. We detected multiple factors as potential contributors to the reduced survival, including Brucella suis biovar 4, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and lower hair trace minerals. These results remark the need of targeted studies to improve detection and investigations on caribou mortalities. We also identified differences in health indicators between captured and hunter sampled caribou, highlighting the importance of accounting for sampling biases. This integrative approach that drew on multiple data sources has provided unprecedented knowledge on the health in this herd and highlights the value of documenting individual animal health to understand causes of wildlife declines.
dc.identifier.citation
Aguilar, X. F., Leclerc, L.-M., Mavrot, F., Roberto-Charron, A., Tomaselli, M., Mastromonaco, G., Gunn, A., Pruvot, M., Rothenburger, J. L., Thanthrige-Don, N., Jahromi, E. Z., & Kutz, S. (2023). An integrative and multi-indicator approach for wildlife health applied to an endangered Caribou Herd. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41689-y
dc.identifier.doi
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41689-y
dc.identifier.issn
2045-2322
dc.identifier.uri
https://open-science.canada.ca/handle/123456789/2902
dc.language.iso
en
dc.publisher
Springer Nature
dc.rights - en
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights - fr
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en
Gold
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr
Or
dc.rights.uri - en
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.uri - fr
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.fr
dc.subject - en
Health
Nature and environment
dc.subject - fr
Santé
Nature et environnement
dc.subject.en - en
Health
Nature and environment
dc.subject.fr - fr
Santé
Nature et environnement
dc.title - en
An integrative and multi-indicator approach for wildlife health applied to an endangered caribou herd
dc.type - en
Article
dc.type - fr
Article
local.acceptedmanuscript.articlenum
16524
local.article.journalissue
1
local.article.journaltitle
Scientific Reports
local.article.journalvolume
13
local.peerreview - en
Yes
local.peerreview - fr
Oui
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