Prevalence and Intensity of Meningeal Worms (Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis) and Liver Flukes (Fascioloides Magna) in Elk (Cervus Elaphus) of Northern Wisconsin

Abstract

Elk (Cervus elaphus) translocation has become common in the United States and herds have been successfully reintroduced into Michigan (Bender et al., 2005), Pennsylvania (Woolf et al., 1977), Oklahoma (Raskevitz et al., 1991), and Kentucky (Larkin et al., 2003). Managers often examine ecological impacts and survival and productivity in reintroduced animals, but the effect of disease on recipient or transplanted populations is not often considered (Wobeser, 2006). Diseases endemic to a system can dramatically affect reintroduced animals. Additionally, disease can be accidentally transplanted to recipient populations with translocated animals. Managers are becoming more aware of disease ecology as outbreaks that affect both native and transplanted populations become increasingly common (Corn and Nettles, 2001). This thesis focuses on disease concerns of a reintroduced elk herd in northern Wisconsin.