Abstract
Pathogens can impact host survival, fecundity, and population dynamics even when no obvious disease is observed. Few baseline data on pathogen prevalence and diversity of caribou are available, which hampers our ability to track changes over time and evaluate impacts on caribou health. Archived blood samples collected from ten migratory caribou herds in Canada and two in Greenland were used to test for exposure to pathogens that have the potential to effect population productivity, are zoonotic or are emerging. Relationships between seroprevalence and individual, population, and other health parameters were also examined. For adult caribou, the highest overall seroprevalence was for alphaherpesvirus (49%, n = 722), pestivirus (49%, n = 572) and Neospora caninum (27%, n = 452). Lower seroprevalence was found for parainfluenza virus type 3 (9%, n = 708), Brucella suis (2%, n = 758), and Toxoplasma gondii (2%, n = 706). No animal tested positive for antibodies against West Nile virus (n = 418) or bovine respiratory syncytial virus (n = 417). This extensive multi-pathogen survey of migratory caribou herds provides evidence that caribou are exposed to pathogens that may have impacts on herd health and revealed potential interactions between pathogens as well as geographical differences in pathogen exposure that could be linked to the bio-geographical history of caribou. Caribou are a keystone species and the socio-economic cornerstone of many indigenous cultures across the North. The results from this study highlight the urgent need for a better understanding of pathogen diversity and the impact of pathogens on caribou health.
Highlights
The Arctic is currently experiencing unprecedented climate change and anthropogenic disturbance that can influence the occurrence and spread of pathogens [1, 2]
Samples were collected from the following migratory caribou herds and subspecies: Porcupine (PCH) (R. t. granti), Bluenose-West (BNW), Bluenose-East (BNE), Dolphin and Union (DU), Bathurst (BA), Beverly and Ahiak (BEAH), Quaminuriaq (QAM), Rivière-aux-Feuilles (R-F), Rivière-George (R-G) in Canada, and the AkiaManiitsoq (AK) and Kangerlussuaq-Sisimiut (KA) (R. t. groenlandicus) herds in Greenland (Fig 1 and S1 Table)
Our data did not allow us to test for associations between exposure, reproduction or recruitment, but our results clearly show that further investigation of the disease ecology of the pathogens surveyed here, and other infectious agents in caribou, is warranted
Summary
The Arctic is currently experiencing unprecedented climate change and anthropogenic disturbance that can influence the occurrence and spread of pathogens [1, 2]. Emergence and spread of pathogens and disease in Arctic wildlife have already been observed [7,8,9,10]. Parasites and other pathogens can play key roles in ungulate population dynamics through direct or indirect effects on reproduction and survival (for example; [12,13,14,15,16]). They may increase risk of predation [17, 18]. From a One Health perspective this is important at northern latitudes, where most people are dependent on harvested country foods (such as fish, waterfowl, caribou, moose, muskoxen, seals), and unhealthy animals can threaten human health, food security, and cultural well-being [22, 23]
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