Meningeal Worm in Deer from Western Nebraska

Abstract

One hundred seventy-eight whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and 275 mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) collected from locker plants in the western 2/3 of Nebraska (USA) in November 1997 were examined for the meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis). Parelaphostrongylus tenuis was identified in 17 (10%) of 168 white-tailed deer and in one (Ͻ1%) of 273 mule deer. This is the first naturally occurring infection of P. tenuis recorded in a mule deer.

Distribution and Ecology of Meningeal Worm, Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis (Nematoda), in Northcentral North America

“…The recent finding of meningeal worm in a WTD from western Nebraska (Oates et al, 2000) established the westernmost finding for the United States. Samuel and Holmes (1974) hypothesized that the grassland biome of central North America acts as a barrier to the western spread of P. tenuis.…”

“…In contrast, Oates et al (2000) suggested that P. tenuis has recently spread westward in Nebraska and indicated that the prairie habitat is not a natural barrier to spread of the parasite. They suggested that meningeal worm larvae might survive along rivers, streams, and other wet areas in numbers sufficient to infect deer.…”

“…It has been reported as far west as western Manitoba (Bindernagel and Anderson, 1972) in Canada and western Nebraska in the United States (Oates et al, 2000). It has not been reported from the boreal mixedwood forest of northcentral and western Canada characterized by a short growing season and relatively low densities of WTD.…”

Invading with biological weapons: the role of shared disease in ecological invasion

“…More detailed information on the system regarding fecundity, recovery and competition would allow us to gain better insight into this invasion but our framework highlights that the disease should be considered in conservation strategies to save the white-clawed crayfish. In North America, the invasion of white-tailed deer has been aided by the transmission of a meningeal worm which is lethal to caribou (Anderson 1972;Oates et al 2000;Pybus et al 1990). One of the conservation strategies has been to reintroduce caribou; however, in regions where infected white-tailed deer are present, these reintroductions have been unsuccessful (Bergerud and Mercer 1989).…”

“…Signal crayfish are resistant to crayfish plague (Cerenius et al 2003); however, it is lethal to white-clawed crayfish and has been responsible for mass mortality in many British crayfish populations (Bubb et al 2004;Holdich 2003). Other examples include: the replacement of the pedunculate oak Quercus robur in the UK by the introduced Turkey oak Quercus cerris due to the impact of the knopper gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis which causes huge acorn losses to the native species but has little effect on the introduced species (Hails and Crawley 1991); monogenean gill fluke Nitzschia sturionis which was introduced with the Caspian Sea sturgeon Huso huso in the 1930s has detrimentally affected the density of the Aral Sea sturgeon Acipenser nudiventris (Rohde 1984) and the expansion of the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in North America into territories occupied by moose Alces alces and caribou Rangifer tarandus which was aided by the meningeal worm Parelaphostrongylus tenuis which is carried by the white-tailed deer but lethal to the other species (Anderson 1972;Bergerud and Mercer 1989;Oates et al 2000;Pybus et al 1990). Perhaps the best known example is the decline of the UK's native red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris over the past 60 years as a result of the introduced North American grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis (Lloyd 1983;Middleton 1930;Reynolds 1985).…”