Call Number:

Accession Number:

Keywords:

Abstract:

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of cattle that has become established in elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) of the Greater Yellowstone Area. It causes elk and bison to abort and has the potential to be transmitted to domestic cattle which are now free of the disease. In this study we examined how long healthy bovine fetuses, as surrogates for aborted bison or elk fetuses, remained in the environment and could be available for contact by elk, bison, and cattle. Healthy bovine fetuses were placed on the National Elk Rufuge, state elk feedgrounds, and Grand Teton National Park to simulate an elk or bison aborted fetus. Fetuses were monitored until they disappeared due to scavenging. Fetuses took 26.8 hr on average (sd=25.3 hr) to disappear from the National Elk Refuge, 42.5 hr (sd=31.6 hr) at state elk feedgrounds, and 57.5 hr (sd=48.0 hr) at Grand Teton National Park. Ninety percent of fetuses can be expected to disappear from the National Elk Refuge within 61.5 hr (2.6 days); from state elk feedgrounds within 97.5 hr (4.1 days); and from Grand Teton National Park within 132 hr (5.5 days). Analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference in fetal disappearance rates depending on habitat type and site of placement. The dominant scavengers at all locations were coyotes (Canis latrans), but ravens (Corvus corax), magpies (Pica pica), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), black bears (Ursus americanus), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), and probably elk and/or bison also participated in scavenging. We found that aborted fetuses could potentially serve as a source of bacterial infection for several days.

Notes:

Found in Bison LibraryNatureBib ID: 652071

• Tagged
• XML
• BibTex