title: Patterns of Cattle Farm Visitation by White-Tailed Deer in Relation to Risk of Disease Transmission in a Previously Infected Area with Bovine Tuberculosis in Minnesota, USA.
abstract: The main objective of this study was to characterize spatial patterns of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) movement related to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) transmission risk to cattle in north-western Minnesota. Twenty-one adult deer (16 females and 5 males) were captured during winter (January-March) 2011 in areas adjacent to where an outbreak (2005-2009) of bTB occurred in deer and cattle. Deer were fitted with GPS collars programmed to collect deer location information every 90 min over a 15-month period. The exact locations of cattle, cattle feeding areas, and stored forage that were available to collared deer were assessed seasonally. In total, 47% (n = 9) of collared deer survived to the end of the study. Causes of mortality included wolves (n = 6), hunters (n = 1) and unknown (n = 2); additionally, 2 deer were censored due to collar malfunctions. Our results indicated that 5 deer (25%) had home ranges that included 6 cattle farms (20%). Most (77%) of the deer visits occurred in areas where cattle were present, with most visits (60%) from 00:00 to 06:00. March to May revealed the most farm visitations by deer (37%). This study provided baseline information regarding cattle-deer interactions critical to transmission of bTB in this region and suggested that risk mitigation practices should be implemented to separate wildlife and domestic livestock when feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ribeiro-Lima
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.|Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carstensen
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN, USA.|Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cornicelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Forester
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wells
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002417:Cattle; D003670:Deer; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary*; D004777:Environment; D000072480:Farms; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D012621:Seasons; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: bovine tuberculosis; cattle; transmission risk; white-tailed deer