Shared Bacterial and Viral Respiratory Agents in Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis), Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries), and Goats (Capra hircus) in Montana.

Transmission of infectious agents from livestock reservoirs has been hypothesized to cause respiratory disease outbreaks in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and land management policies intended to limit this transmission have proven controversial. This cross-sectional study compares the infectious agents present in multiple populations of bighorn sheep near to and distant from their interface with domestic sheep (O. aries) and domestic goat (Capra hircus) and provides critical baseline information needed for interpretations of cross-species transmission risks.

Pathogenesis and epidemiology of brucellosis in yellowstone bison: serologic and culture results from adult females and their progeny.

Our objective in this prospective study was to determine the natural course of Brucella abortus infection in cohorts of seropositive and seronegative, female bison (Bison bison) and their offspring in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) for 5 yr. We collected specimens from 53 adult females and 25 calves at least once and from 45 adults and 22 calves more than once. Annual seroconversion rates (negative to positive) were relatively high (23% for calves and juvenile bison, 6% in the total sample of adult female bison in our study, and 11% in the adult females that began the study as seronegatives).

A large cost of female mate sampling in pronghorn.

We measured the energy cost of mate sampling by female pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), a species for which there are no apparent direct benefits of mate choice and for which the sampling tactic most closely resembles best-of-n or comparative Bayes. We used Global Positioning System collars to record the position of individuals at 10-min intervals during the 2 weeks preceding estrus in females that actively sampled and in females that did not sample. The difference in the 2-week energy costs of these two classes of females was 8,200 (+/-2,300) kJ, or roughly one-half of the energy cost of a single day.

Evaluation of Brucella abortus strain RB51 and strain 19 in pronghorn antelope.

Free-roaming elk and bison in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain the only wildlife reservoirs for Brucella abortus in the United States, and the large number of animals and a lack of holding facilities make it unreasonable to individually vaccinate each animal. Therefore, oral delivery is being proposed as a possible option to vaccinate these wild ungulates. One of the main problems associated with oral vaccination is the potential exposure of nontarget species to the vaccines.

Fusobacteriosis in captive wild-caught pronghorns (Antilocapra americana).

An outbreak of Fusobacterium necrophorum-induced septicemia occurred in a group of 40 captive wild-caught pronghorns (Antilocapra americana). Primary pododermatitis or necrotic stomatitis progressed to produce fatal septicemia with metastatic lesions in the forestomachs, lung, liver, and cecum in 38 of the animals. Two remaining animals were euthanatized because of chronic pododermatitis.