caribou monitoring

Content related to: caribou monitoring

Community-based Muskox and Caribou Health Monitoring / Community Based Wildlife health Surveillance Program

KUTZ Research group objective:

We are an interdisciplinary group with the underlying goal of understanding the health of free-living wildlife and applying that knowledge for the purposes of sustainable subsistence use and conservation of healthy ecosystems. The main body of our work focuses on understanding the impacts of environmental perturbations (e.g., climate change and habitat disturbance) on animal health. We engage directly with subsistence hunters and northern communities to identify emerging concerns and to develop and implement practical and effective disease surveillance methodologies. We use field, laboratory, and captive animal studies together with local knowledge and observations to document parasite biodiversity, understand disease dynamics, and develop empirically-based models to predict transmission dynamics under changing environmental conditions. 

Core to all of our activities is collaboration starting with the individual subsistence hunter and communities through to the wildlife management and conservation agencies. We believe strongly in knowledge translation and return to the community and all of our activities include components of community outreach.

The Kutz Research group is involved in a few programs, including:

Kutz Research Group is also on social media. Regular posts are made on the Facebook page.

Overarching Program updates 

Project 1: Dolphin and Union Caribou Health Monitoring

Work led by: Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, with Communities and Partners.

Resources: 

Project 2: Traditional Knowledge of Dolphin and Union Caribou

Work led by: Andrea Hanke and Harvesters.

Resources:

Project 3: Hair as a Monitoring Tool in Bluenose-East Caribou

Work led by: Filip Rakic.

Project 4: Effects of Gastrointestinal Parasites on Body Condition and Reproduction in Caribou and Muskoxen

Work led by: Eleanor Dickinson and Chinyere Nwafor-Okoli.

Resources: 

Project 5: Insect-borne Parasitic Diseases in Caribou of the Canadian Arctic

Work led by: Aparna Thomas.

Project 6: Bathurst Caribou Health and Population Trends

Work led by: Benjamin Padilla with Tlicho Government and Ekwo Naxoehdee k’e.

Resources: 

Project 7: ​​​​​​Arctic Emerging Infections Diseases (including Brucellosis in the Arctic, Erysipelothrix in the Arctic, and Monitoring exposure to diseases in caribou) 

Resources:

Project 8: ​​​​​​Understanding Caribou Together

This project has four main components:

  • 1: Proactive Indicators of Caribou Conservation Status to Guide Management and Policy (Principal Investigator: Susan Kutz), 
  • 2: Community-defined and Monitored Indicators of Recovery in Barren-ground Caribou (Co-principal Investigators: F van der Meer, Susan Kutz), 
  • 3: Contaminants, Caribou Epigenetics and Genomic Health (Co-principal Investigators: M Gamberg, R Barrett), 
  • 4: Ekwǫ̀Nàxoèhdee K’è: Boots on the Ground (Work led by: Tłıchǫ Government)

Resources: 

Project 9: ​​​​​​Tradition of the tundra: learning about caribou through traditional knowledge 

Work led by: Amish Dua

Resources: 

Project 10: Biodiversity and Impacts of Viral Infections on Barren-ground Caribou Health

Work led by: Jessie Olson

Resources: 

Additional Program Peer-reviewed publications
  • Nagati, M., Bergeron, M.J., Gagné, P., Arsenault, A., Droit, A., Wilson, P., Pittoello, G., Manseau, M., Martineau, C., Kutz, S. (2024). Exploring winter diet, gut microbiota and parasitism in caribou using multi-marker metabarcoding of fecal DNA. Sci Rep (Oct2024) https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4455656/v1
  • Buhler, K., Schwantje, H., Harms, N.J., Fenton, H., Aguilar, X.F.*, Kutz, S., Leclerc, L.-M., Blake, J., Jenkins, E. (2024). Widespread exposure to Francisella tularensis in Rangifer tarandus from Canada and Alaska. Polar Research 43. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v43.9288 
  • Aguilar, X.F.*, Mavrot, F.*, Surujballi, O., Leclerc, L.M., Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association, Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization, Olohaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee, Tomaselli, M.*, Kutz, S. (2024). Brucellosis emergence in the Canadian Arctic. One Health 18: 100712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100712
  • Kohut, G., Losey, R., Kutz. S., Khidas, K., Nomokonova, T. (2024). Assessing current visual tooth wear age estimation methods for Rangifer tarandus using a known age sample from Canada. PLoS One 19(4): e0301408. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301408
  • Dias, A.P., Aguilar, X.F.*, De Buck, J., Kutz, S., Arrazuria, R. (2024). Digital dermatitis-associated Treponemaspecies detection and quantification in migratory tundra caribou (Rangifer tarandus). Res Vet Sci 17: 105210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2024.105210
  • Hanke, A.*, Niptanatiak Dumond, A., Di Francesco, J.*, Adams, C.L., Milton, T., Leclerc, L.M., Maksagak, B., Nathoo, R., Roberto-Charron, A., Blue, G. and Kutz, S. (2024). Supporting Inuit food sovereignty through collaborative research of an at-risk caribou herd. Front Sustain Food Syst 7:1306521. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1306521
  • Aguilar, X.F.*, Leclerc, L.M., Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association, Ekaluktutiak Hunters & Trappers Organization, Olokhaktomiut Hunters & Trappers Committee, Mavrot, F.*, Roberto-Charron, A., Tomaselli, M.*, Mastromonaco, G., Gunn, A., Pruvot, M.*, Rothenburger, J.L., Thanthrige-Don, N., Jahromi, E.Z., Kutz, S. (2023). An integrative and multi-indicator approach for wildlife health applied to an endangered caribou herd. Sci Rep 13(1):16524. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41689-y
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Peacock, S.J.*, Molnar, P.K., Ruckstuhl, K.E., Kutz, S.J. (2023). Local thermal adaptation and local temperature regimes drive the performance of parasitic helminths under climate change: The case of Marshallagia marshalli from wild ungulates. Global Change Biol 29(22):6217-6233.https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16918
  • Dickinson, E.R.*, Orsel, K., Cuyler, C., Kutz, S.J. (2023). Life history matters: Differential effects of abomasal parasites on caribou fitness. Int J Parasitol 53(4):221-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2023.01.001
  • Rakic, F.*, Fernandez-Aguilar, X.*, Pruvot, M.*, Whiteside, D.P., Mastromonaco, G.F., Leclerc, L.M., Jutha, N.*, Kutz, S.J. (2023). Variation of hair cortisol in two herds of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus): Implications for health monitoring. Conservation Physiology 11(1): p.coad030. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coad030
  • Mubareka, S., Amuasi, J., Banerjee, A., Carabin, H., Copper Jack, J., Jardine, C., Jaroszewicz, B., Keefe, G., Kotwa, J., Kutz, S., McGregor, D. (2023). Strengthening a One Health approach to emerging zoonoses. Facets 8(1):1-64. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0190
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Kutz. S., Mallory. M.L., Provencher. J.F. (2022). Wildlife health in environmental impact assessments: Are we missing a key metric? Environmental Reviews 31(2):3 48-59. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2022-0023
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Kafle, P.*, Sulliotti, V., Lejeune, M., Hoberg, E.P., Kutz, SJ. (2022). Morphometry of first-stage larvae of Orthostrongylus macrotis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), lungworm of wild ungulates from western North America. J Parasitol 108(4): 322-329. https://doi.org/10.1645/22-20
  • Rakic, F.*, Pruvot, M.*, Whiteside, D.P., Kutz, S. (2022). A scoping review of the Rangifer tarandus infectious disease literature: Gap between information and application. J Wildl Dis 58 (3): 473–486. https://doi.org/10.7589/JWD-D-21-00165
  • Rioux, È.*, Pelletier, F., Mosbacher, J.B.*, Lesmerises, F., St-Louis, R., Kutz, S., St-Laurent, M.H. (2022). Links between individual performance, trace elements and stable isotopes in an endangered caribou population. Glob Ecol Conserv 38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02234
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Anholt, M., Orsel, K., Mavrot, F.*, Gagnon, C.A., Beckmen, K., Côté, S.D., Cuyler, C., Dobson, A., Elkin, B., Leclerc, L.M. (2022). Association of environmental factors with seasonal intensity of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae seropositivity among arctic caribou. J Emerg Infect Dis 28(8): 1650. https://doi.org/10.3201%2Feid2808.212144
  • Peacock, S.J.*, Kutz, S.J., Hoar, B.M.*, Molnár, P.K. (2022). Behaviour is more important than thermal performance for an arctic host–parasite system under climate change. R Soc Open Sci 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220060
  • Koltz, A., Civitello, D., Becker, D., Deem, S. Classen, A. Barton, B., Brenn-Whited, M. Johnson, Z. Kutz,S. Malishev, M. Preston, D Vannattai, J.T. Penczykowski, R. Ezenwaj, V.O. (2022). Sublethal effects of parasitism on ruminants can have cascading consequences for ecosystems. PNAS 119(20). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117381119
  • Jutha, N.*, Jardine, C., Schwantje, H., Mosbacher, J.*, Kinniburgh, D., Kutz, S. (2022). Evaluating the use of hair as a non-invasive indicator of trace mineral status in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). PLoS One 17(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269441
  • Keatts, L.O., Robards, M., Olson, S.H., Hueffer, K., Insley, S.J., Joly, D.O., Kutz, S., Lee, D.S., Chetkiewicz, C.L.B., Lair, S., Preston, N.D. (2021). Implications of zoonoses from hunting and use of wildlife in North American arctic and boreal biomes: Pandemic potential, monitoring, and mitigation. Front Public Health (2021): 451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.627654
  • Hanke, A.*, Angohiatok M., Leclerc, L.-M., Adams. C., Kutz S.J. (2021). A caribou decline foreshadowed by Inuit in the Central Canadian Arctic: A retrospective analysis. Arctic 74(4): 437-55. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27110552
  • Gamberg, M., Pratte, I., Brammer, J., Cuyler, C., Elkin, B., Gurney, K., Kutz, S., Larter, N.C., Muir, D., Wang, X., Provencher, J.F. (2020). Renal trace elements in barren-ground caribou subpopulations: temporal trends and differing effects of sex, age and season. Sci Total Environ 724: 138305
  • Peacock*, S.J., Mavrot*, F., Hanke*, A., Tomaselli*, M., Aleuy*, O.A., Di Francesco*, J., Fenton, H., Aguilar*, X., Jutha*, N., Kafle*, P., Mosbacher*, J., Nathoo, R., Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization, Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization, Olokhaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee, Kutz, S.J. (2020). Linking co-monitoring to co-management: Bringing together local, traditional, and scientific knowledge in a wildlife status assessment framework. Arct Sci. 6: 247-266   dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2019-0019
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Peacock, S.*, Hoberg, E.P., Ruckstuhl, K.E., Brooks, T., Aranas, M., Kutz, S. (2020). Phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in freeze tolerance: Implications for parasite dynamics in a changing world. Int J Parasitol 50(2): 161-169.
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Kutz, S. (2020). Adaptations, life-history traits and ecological mechanisms of parasites to survive extremes and environmental unpredictability in the face of climate change. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 12: 308-317.
  • Aleuy, O.A.*, Serrano, E., Ruckstuhl, K.E., Hoberg, E.P., Kutz, S. (2020). Parasite intensity drives fetal development and sex allocation in a wild ungulate. Scientific Reports 10(1): 1-10.
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Hoberg, E.P., Simard, M., Beckmen, K.B., Musiani, M., Wasser, S., Cuyler, C., Manseau, M., Chaudhry, U.N., Kashivakura, C.K.*, Gilleard, J.S., Kutz, S. (2020). The biogeography of the caribou lungworm, Varestrongylus eleguneniensis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), across northern North America. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 11: 93-102.
  • Normandeau, J.*, Kutz, S., Hebblewhite, M., Merrill, E.H. (2020). Living with liver flukes: Does migration matter?. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 12: 76-84.
  • Hanke, A.N.*, Angohiatok, M., Leclerc, L.-M., Adams, C., Kutz, S. (2020). The dynamic life of caribou: Inuit insights into abundance, distribution, ecology, and health of the Dolphin and Union herd. Arctic. 74 (4):437-455. 
  • Pruvot, M.*, Musiani, M., Boyce, M., Kutz, S., Orsel, K. (2020). Integrating livestock management and telemetry data to assess disease transmission risk between wildlife and livestock. Prev Vet Med 174: 104846.
  • Kutz, S., Tomaselli, M.* (2019). "Two-eyed seeing" supports wildlife health. Science (New York, N.Y.). 364(6446): 1135-1137.
  • Aleuy A.*, Hoberg E.P. , Paquette C. , Ruckstuhl K.E., Kutz S. (2019). Adaptations and phenotypic plasticity in developmental traits of Marshallagia marshalli. Int J Parasitol 49(10): 789-796.
  • Groeschel, M., Forde, T.*, Turvey, S., Joffe, A.M., Hui, C., Naidu, P., Mavrot, F.*, Kutz, S., Singh, A. (2019). An unusual case of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae prosthetic joint infection from the Canadian Arctic: Whole genome sequencing unable to identify a zoonotic source. BMC Inf Dis 19(1): 282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-019-3913-7
  • Bird, S.*, Prewer, E.*, Kutz, S., Leclerc, L.-M., Torres Vilaça, S., Kyle, C.J. (2019). Geography, seasonality, and host-associated population structure influence the fecal microbiome of a genetically depauparate arctic mammal. Ecol Evol 9(23): 13202-13217.
  • Carlsson, A.M.*, Curry, P.*, Elkin, B., Russell, D., Veitch, A., Branigan, M., Campbell, M., Croft, B., Cuyler, C., Côté, S.D., Leclerc, L.-M., Tryland, M., Nymo, I.H., Kutz, S.J. (2019). Multi-pathogen serological survey of migratory caribou herds: A snapshot in time. PloS One: 14(7): e0219838.
  • Bondo, K.J.*, Macbeth, B.*, Schwantje, H., Orsel, K., Culling, D., Culling, B., Tryland, M., Nymo, I.H., Kutz, S. (2019) Health survey of boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. J Wildl Dis 55(3): 544-562.
  • Thompson, A., Kutz, S. (2019). Introduction to the special issue on Emerging Zoonoses and Wildlife. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 9:322. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijppaw.2019.07.002
  • Kafle, P.*, Peacock, S.J., Grond, S., Orsel, K., Kutz, S. (2018). Temperature-dependent development and freezing survival of protostrongylid nematodes of arctic ungulates: implications for transmission. Parasit Vectors 11: 400.
  • Turgeon, G.*, Kutz, S.J., Lejeune, M., St-Laurent, M.H., Pelletier, F. (2018). Parasite prevalence, infection intensity and richness in an endangered population, the Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 7:90-94.
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Kutz, S.J., Hoberg, E.P. (2018). Historical biogeography among species of Varestrongylus lungworms (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) in ungulates: episodic expansion and host colonization linking Eurasia and North America. Parasitol Res 117(7): 2125-2137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5900-0
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Kutz, S.J., Hoberg, E.P. (2018) Varestrongylus (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), lungworms of ungulates: A phylogenetic framework based on comparative morphology. Parasitol Res 117:(7)2075-2083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-5893-8
  • Tomaselli, M.*, Kutz, S., Gerlach, C., Checkley, S. (2018). Local knowledge to enhance wildlife population health surveillance: Conserving muskoxen and caribou in the Canadian Arctic. Biol Conserv https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.11.010
  • Kafle, P.,* Leclerc, L.M. Anderson, M., Davison, T., Lejeune, M., Kutz, S. (2017). Morphological keys to advance the understanding of protostrongylid biodiversity in caribou. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 6:331-339.
  • Cook, J.A., Galbreath, K., Bell, K., Cambell, M.L., Carriere, S., Colella, J.P., Dawson, N., Dunnum, J.L., Eckerlin, R.P., Greiman, S., Fedorov, V.B., Haas, G., Haukisalmi, V., Henttonen, H., Hope, A., Jackson, D.J., Jung, T.S., Koehler, A.V., Kinsella, J.M., Kresja, D., Kutz, S.J., Liphardt, S., MacDonald, S.O., Malaney, J.L., Makarikov, A., Martin, J., McLean B.S., Mulders, B., Batsaikhan, N., Talbot, S.L., Tkach, V., Tsvetkova, A., Toman, H., Waltari, E.C., Whitman, J.S., Hoberg, E.P. (2017) The Beringian Coevolution Project: Holistic collections of mammals and associated parasites reveal novel perspectives on evolutionary and environmental change in the North. Arct Sci 3(3):585-617.
  • Kafle, P.*, Sullivan, J.*, Verocai, G.G.*, Kutz, S.J. (2017) Experimental life-cycle of Varestrongylus eleguneniensis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) in a captive reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and a muskox (Ovibos moschatus moschatus). J Parasitol 103(5):584-587. https://doi.org/10.1645:17-19
  • Dalton. C.S.*, van de Rakt, K., Fahlman, A., Ruckstuhl, K., Neuhaus, P., Popko, R., Kutz, S., van Der Meer, F. (2017). Discovery of herpesviruses in Canadian wildlife. Arch Virol. 162(2):449-456.
  • Hoberg E.P., Cook, J.A., Agosta, S.J., Boeger, W., Galbreath, K.E., Laaksonen, S., Kutz, S.J., Brooks, D.R. (2017). Arctic systems in the Quaternary: Ecological collision, faunal mosaics and the consequences of a wobbling climate. J Helminthol 91(4):409-421.
  • Carlsson, A.M.*, Mastromonaco, G., Vandervalk, E.*, Kutz, S. (2016). Parasites, stress and reindeer: Infection with abomasal nematodes is not associated with elevated glucocorticoid levels in hair or faeces. Conserv Physiol 4(1):1-15.
  • Forde, T.*, Biek, R., Zadoks, R., Workentine, M.L., De Buck, J., Kutz, S., et al. (2016). Genomic analysis of the multi-host pathogen Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae reveals extensive recombination as well as the existence of three generalist clades with wide geographic distribution. BMC Genomics 17:1-15.
  • Forde, T.L.*, Orsel, K., Zadoks, R.N., Biek, R., Adams, L.G., Checkley, S.L., Davison, T., De Buck, J., Dumond, M., Elkin, B.T., Finnegan, L., MacBeth, B.J., Nelson, C., Niptanatiak, A., Sather, S., Schwantje, H.M., van der Meer, F. and Kutz, S.J. (2016). Bacterial genomics reveal the complex epidemiology of an emerging pathogen in Arctic and boreal ungulates. Front Microbiol 7:1-14.
  • Tomaselli, M.*, Dalton, C.*, Duignan, P.J., Kutz., S., et al. (2016). Contagious ecthyma, rangiferine brucellosis and lungworm infection in a muskox (Ovibos moschatus ) from the Canadian Arctic, 2014. J Wildl Dis 52(3):719-724.
  • Simard, A.A.*, Kutz, S., Ducrocq, J.*, Beckmen, K., Brodeur, V., Campbell, M., Croft, B., Cuyler, C., Davison, T., Elkin, B., Giroux, T., Kelly, A., Russell, D., Taillon, J., Veitch, A., Côté, S.D. (2016). Variation in the intensity and prevalence of macroparasites in migratory caribou: A quasi-circumpolar study. Can J Zool 94:607-617.
  • Cook, J.A., Greiman, S.E., Agosta, S.J. anderson, R.P., Arbogast, B.S., Baker, R.J., Boeger, W., Bradley, R.D., Brooks, D.R., Cole, R., Demboski, J.R., Dobson, A.P., J.L., Dunnum, Eckerlin, R.P., Esselstyn, J., Galbreath, K.E., Hawdon, J., Hoekstra, H.E., Kutz, S.J., et al. (2016). Transformational principles for NEON sampling of mammalian parasites and pathogens: A response to Springer and Colleagues. BioScience 66(11):917-919.
  • Dobson, A., Molnar, P.K.*, Kutz, S. (2015). Climate change and arctic parasites. Trends Parasitol 31(5):181-188.
  • Curry, P.S.*, Ribble, C., Sears, W.C., Hutchins, W., Orsel, K., Godson, D., Lindsay, R., Dibernardo, A., Kutz, S.J. (2014). Blood collected on filter paper for wildlife serology: Detecting antibodies to Neospora caninum, West Nile virus and five bovine viruses in reindeer. J Wildl Dis 50(2):297-307.
  • Curry, P.S.*, Ribble, C., Sears, W.C., Orsel, K., Hutchins, W., Godson, D., Lindsay, R., Dibernardo, A., Campbell, M., Kutz, S.J. (2014). Blood collected on filter paper for wildlife serology: Evaluating storage and temperature challenges of field collections. J Wildl Dis 50(2):308-321.
  • Dixon, B.R., Ndao, M., Tetro, J.A., Maal-Bared, R., Bidawid, S., Farber, J.M., et al. (2014) Food and environmental parasitology in Canada: A network for the facilitation of collaborative research. Food Prot Trends 34(6):376-85.
  • Gortazar, C., Reperant, L.A., Kuiken, T., de la Fuente, J., Boadella, M., Martinez-Lopez, B., Ruiz-Fons, F., Estranda- Pena, A., Drosten, C., Ostfeld, R., Peterson, T., VerCauteren, K.C., Menge, C., Artois, M., Schultsz, C., Delahay, R., Serra-Cobo, J., Poulin, R., Keck, F., Aquirre, A.A., Henttonen, H., Dobson, A.P., Kutz, S., et al. (2014). Crossing the interspecies barrier: Opening the door to zoonotic pathogens. PLoS Pathog 10(6):e1004129.
  • Kutz, S.J., Hoberg, E.P., Molnar, P.K., Dobson, A., Verocai, G.G.* (2014). A walk on the tundra: Host-parasite interactions in an extreme environment. Int J Parasitol 3(2):198-208. 
  • Rose, H., Hoar, B.*, Kutz, S.J., Morgan, E.R. (2014). Exploiting parallels between livestock and wildlife: Predicting the impact of climate change on gastrointestinal nematodes in ruminants. Int J Parasitol 3(2):209-219.
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Kutz, S.J., Simard, M., Hoberg, E.P. (2014). Varestrongylus eleguneniensis sp. n. (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae): a widespread, multi-host lungworm of wild North American ungulates, with an emended diagnosis for the genus and explorations of biogeography. Parasit Vectors 7:556.
  • Steele, J.*, Orsel, K., Cuyler, C., Hoberg, E.P., Schmidt, N.M., Kutz, S.J. (2013). Divergent parasite faunas in adjacent populations of west Greenland caribou: Natural and anthropogenic influences on diversity. Int J Parasitol 2:197-202.
  • Altizer, S., Ostfeld, R.S., Johnson, P.T., Kutz, S., Harvell, C.D. (2013). Climate change and infectious diseases: From evidence to a predictive framework. Science 341(6145):514-519.
  • Ducrocq, J.*, Kutz, S., et al. (2013). Variables associated with Besnoitia tarandi prevalence and cyst density in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations. J Wildl Dis 49(1):29-38.
  • Molnar, P.K.*, Dobson, A.P., Kutz, S.J. (2013). Gimme shelter--the relative sensitivity of parasitic nematodes with direct and indirect life cycles to climate change. Glob Chang Biol 19(11):3291-3305.
  • Molnar, P.K.*, Kutz, S.J., Hoar, B.M.*, Dobson, A.P. (2013). Metabolic approaches to understanding climate change impacts on seasonal host-macroparasite dynamics. Ecol Lett 16(1):9-21.
  • Pruvot, M.*, Forde, T.L.*, Steete, J.*, Kutz, S.J., et al. (2013). The modification and evaluation of an ELISA test for the surveillance of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in wild ruminants. BMC Vet Res 9:5.
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Lejeune, M., Finstad, G., Kutz, S.J. (2013). A Nearctic parasite in a Palearctic host: Parelaphostrongylus andersoni (Nematoda; Protostrongylidae) infecting semi-domesticated reindeer in Alaska. Int. J Parasitol 2:119-123.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2013). Invasion, establishment and range expansion of two parasitic nematodes in the Canadian Arctic. Glob Chang Biol 19(11):3254-3262.
  • Kutz, S., Ducrocq, J.*, Cuyler, C., Elkin, B., Gunn, A., Kolpashikov, L., Russell, D., White, R.G. (2013). Standardized monitoring of Rangifer health during International Polar Year. Rangifer 33, Special Issue No. 21: 91-114.
  • Ducrocq, J.*, Beauchamp, G., Kutz, S.J., Lair, S. (2012). Comparison of gross visual and microscopic assessment of four anatomic sites to monitor Besnoitia tarandi in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus). J Wildl Dis 48(3):732-738.
  • Forde, T.*, Orsel, K., De Buck, J., Cote, S.D., Cuyler, C., Davison, T., Elkin, B., Kelly, A., Kienzier, M., Popko R., Taillon J., Veitch A., Kutz, S.J. (2012) Detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in several herds of arctic caribou (Rangifer tarandus ssp.). J Wildl Dis 48(4):918-924.
  • Galloway, J.M., Adamczewski, J., Schock, D.M. Andrews, T.D., MacKay, G., Bowyer, V.E., et al. (2012). Diet and habitat of mountain woodland caribou inferred from dung preserved in 5000-year-old alpine ice in the Selwyn Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. Arctic. 65(Suppl. 1):59-79.
  • Hoar, B.M.*, Eberhardt, A.G., Kutz, S.J. (2012). Obligate larval inhibition of Ostertagia gruehneri in Rangifer tarandus? Causes and consequences in an arctic system. Parasitology 139(10):1339-1345.
  • Hoar, B.M.*, Ruckstuhl, K., Kutz, S. (2012). Development and availability of the free-living stages of Ostertagia gruehneri, an abomasal parasite of barrenground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus), on the Canadian tundra. Parasitology 139(8):1093-1100.
  • Hoberg, E.P., Abrams, A., Pilitt, P.A., Kutz, S.J. (2012). Discovery and description of the "davtiani" morphotype for Teladorsagia boreoarcticus (Trichostrongyloidea: Ostertagiinae) abomasal parasites in muskoxen, Ovibos moschatus, and caribou, Rangifer tarandus, from the North American Arctic: Implications for parasite faunal diversity. J Parasitol 98(2):355-364.
  • Hoberg, E.P., Galbreath, K.E., Cook, J.A., Kutz, S.J., Polley L. (2012). Northern host-parasite assemblages: History and biogeography on the borderlands of episodic climate and environmental transition. Adv Parasitol 79:1-97.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2012). Parasites in ungulates of Arctic North America and Greenland: A view of contemporary diversity, ecology and impact in a world under change. Adv Parasitol 79:99-252.
  • Verocai, G.G.*, Lejeune, M., Beckmen, K.B., Kashivakura, C.K.*, Veitch, A.M., Popko, R.A., Fuentealba, C., Hoberg, E.P., Kutz, S.J. (2012). Defining parasite biodiversity at high latitudes of North America: New host and geographic records for Onchocerca cervipedis (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) in moose and caribou. Parasit Vectors 5:242.
  • Wu, J.P.*, Veitch, A., Checkley, S., Dobson, H., Kutz, S.J. (2012). Linear enamel hypoplasia in caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus): A potential tool to assess population health. Wildl Soc Bull 36(3):554-60.
  • Curry, P.S.*, Elkin, B.T., Campbell, M., Nielsen, K., Hutchins, W., Ribble, C., Kutz, S.J. (2011). Filter-paper blood samples for ELISA detection of Brucella antibodies in caribou. J Wildl Dis 47(1):12-20.
  • Davidson, R., Simard, M., Kutz, S.J., et al. (2011). Arctic parasitology: Why should we care? Trends Parasitol 27(6):239-245.
  • Risling, T.E.*, Fahlman, Å., Caulkett, N.A., Kutz, S. (2011). Physiological and behavioural effects of hypoxemia in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) immobilised with xylazine-etorphine. Anim Prod Sci 51(4):355-8.
  • Sim, K.A., Hoar, B.*, Kutz, S.J., Chilton, N.B. (2010). Amplification of the second internal transcribed spacer ribosomal DNA of individual trichostrongylid nematode larvae by nested polymerase chain reaction. J Vet Diagn Invest 22(3):433-437.
  • Brook, R.K.*, Kutz, S.J., et al. (2009). Fostering community-based wildlife health monitoring and research in the Canadian North. Ecohealth 6(2):266-278.
  • Kutz, S.J., Dobson, A.P., Hoberg, E.P. (2009). Where are the parasites? Science 326(5957):1187-1188.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2009). The Arctic as a model for anticipating, preventing and mitigating climate change impacts on host-parasite interactions. Vet Parasitol 163(3):217-228.
  • Thompson, R.C., Kutz, S.J., Smith, A. (2009). Parasite zoonoses and wildlife: Emerging issues. Int J Environ Res Public Health 6(2):678-693.
  • Hoberg, E.P., Polley, L., Jenkins, E.J., Kutz, S.J. (2008). Pathogens of domestic and free-ranging ungulates: Global climate change in temperate to boreal latitudes across North America. Rev Sci Tech 27(2):511-528.
  • Hoberg, E.P., Polley, L., Jenkins, E.J., Kutz, S.J., et al. (2008). Integrated approaches and empirical models for investigation of parasitic diseases in northern wildlife. Emerg Infect Dis 14(1):10-17.
  • Kutz, S.J., Asmundsson, I., Hoberg, E.P., Appleyard, G.D., Jenkins, E.J., Beckmen, K., et al. (2007). Serendipitous discovery of a novel protostrongylid (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) in caribou, muskoxen and moose from high latitudes of North America based on DNA sequence comparisons. Can J Zool 2007;85(11):1143-56.
  • Bradley, M., Kutz, S.J., et al. (2005). The potential impact of climate change on infectious diseases of arctic fauna. Int J Circumpolar Health 64(5):468-477.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2005). Global warming is changing the dynamics of arctic host-parasite systems. Proc Biol Sci 272(1581):2571-2576.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2004). "Emerging" parasitic infections in arctic ungulates. Integr Comp Biol 44(2):109-118.
  • Kutz, S.J., et al. (2001). Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) from the Canadian Arctic. J Parasitol 87(2):439-442.
Additional Program book & Book chapter publications
  • Colella, J.P., Greiman, S.E., Kutz, S., Lutz, H.L., Cook, J.A. (2023). Genomic Identification and Surveillance of Infectious Diseases in Natural Systems. In: Berry, O.F., Holleley, C.E., Jarman, S.N. (eds) Applied Environmental Genomics, p.299
  • Mavrot, F.*, Aleuy, O.A.*, Forde, T.*, Kutz, S.J. (2022). Erysipelas in Arctic and Northern Regions. In: Tryland, M. (eds) Arctic One Health: Challenges for Northern Animals and People (pp. 363-375). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87853-5_16
  • Reynolds, A., Kutz, S., Baker, T.* (2022). A Holistic Approach to One Health in the Arctic. In: Tryland, M. (eds) Arctic One Health: Challenges for Northern Animals and People (pp. 21-25). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87853-5_16
  • Aguilar, X.F.*, Nymo, I.H., Beckmen, K., Dresvyanikova, S, Egorova, I, Kutz, S. (2022); Brucellosis in the Arctic and Northern Regions. In: Tryland, M. (eds) Arctic One Health: Challenges for Northern Animals and People (pp. 227-267). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87853-5_16
  • MacBeth, B. Kutz, S.J. (2018). Rangifer Health: A Holistic Perspective. In: M. Tryland S. Kutz. Reindeer and Caribou: Health and Disease. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. 534 pages.
  • Carlsson, A.M. Dobson, A. Kutz, S.J. (2018). The Impact of Infectious Agents on Rangifer Populations. In: M. Tryland S. Kutz. Reindeer and Caribou: Health and Disease. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. 534 pages.
  • Kutz, S.J. Laaksonen, S. Åsbakk, K. Nilssen, A.C. (2018). Parasitic Infections and Diseases. M. Tryland. In: M. Tryland S. Kutz. Reindeer and Caribou: Health and Disease. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. 534 pages.
  • Tryland, M. and Kutz, S.J. (Eds) (2018). Reindeer and Caribou: Health and Disease. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. 534 pages. 
  • Laaksonen, S., Oksanen, A., Kutz, S., Jokelainen, P., Homa-Suutari, A. and Hoberg, E. (2017) Filarioid nematodes, threat to arctic food safety and security. In: Game meat hygiene: Food safety and security. P. Paulsen, A. Baouer and F.J. M. Smulders (Eds)., pp. 101-120 
  • Hoberg, E.P., Kutz, S.J., Cook, J.A., Galaktionov, K., Haukisalmi, V., Henttonen, H., Laaksonen, S., Makarikiov, A. and Marcogliese, D.J. (2013) Parasites in terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems, In: Arctic Biodiversity Assessment - Status and Trends in Arctic Biodiversity, H. Meltofte (Ed). Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, Arctic Council, Akureyi, Iceland. 2013. pp. 21-66.  
  • Kutz, S.J. (2012) Polar Diseases and Parasites: A Conservation Paradigm Shift, In: Protection of the Three Poles. F. Huettman (Ed) Springer.
  • Tryland, M., Kutz, S. and Curry, P. (2012) Wildlife Health in a Changing North: A Model for Global Environmental Change. In: Conservation Medicine: Applied Cases of Ecological Health. A. A. Aguirre, P. Daszak and R. S. Ostfeld (Eds). Oxford University Press, New York, USA.
  • Polley, L., Kutz, S.J. and Hoberg, E.P. (2011) Parasite Zoonoses. In: Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, Ed. Nriagu and J.O. Burlington (Eds): Elsevier. Volume 4:325-345.
  • Kutz, S.J., Thompson, R.C.A. and Polley, L. (2009) Wildlife with Giardia: Villain, or Victim and Vector? In: Giardia and Cryptosporidium: from Molecules to Disease. G. Ortega-Pierres, S. M. Caccio, R. Fayer, T. G. Mank, H. V. Smith and R.C. Thompson, A. (Eds). C.A.B.I, Oxfordshire, UK. pp. 94-106.
  • Dobson, A., Kutz, S.J., Pascual, M. and Winfree, R. (2003) Pathogens and Parasites in a Changing Climate. In: Climate Change and Biodiversity: Synergistic Impacts. L. Hannah and T. Lovejoy, (Eds), Advances in Applied Biodiversity Science 4. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International. pp. 33-38.

 

Website:
https://vet.ucalgary.ca/groups/arctic-wildlife-health
Organization:
University of Calgary (UofC)

Using camera traps to estimate density and population composition of deer, moose, and elk

Aerial surveys are the primary method to assess ungulate population size, demographics, and trends in Alberta. These estimates are used to set hunting license allocations and determine priority areas for recovery actions. However, it can be difficult to obtain accurate population estimates and demographics for some ungulates using aerial survey methods in forested habitat do to poor sightability.

Camera trapping is a noninvasive and relatively inexpensive method of monitoring wildlife, and recent advances in analysis methods have eliminated many of the issues facing early attempts at estimating population densities. However, camera survey methods need refinement to be an informative and cost-effective alternative to aerial surveys, particularly regarding the number of cameras required for accurate population estimates.

Objectives

We will install camera traps to evaluate a range of spatial scales and camera numbers to determine an appropriate number of cameras. This approach will allow us to determine:

  • whether camera trapping is a feasible method of estimating ungulate densities in forested habitat in west-central Alberta
  • a sampling design and statistical approach that is both cost-effective and accurate for estimating ungulate densities

This project will develop an innovative method for future ungulate inventories. Results from this project will also be used to estimate densities of moose, deer, and elk, in west-central Alberta – valuable information for landscape management that will inform conservation efforts for caribou.

Methods

In the summer of 2023, we will install camera traps in a grid format in west-central Alberta. Cameras will remain in place for one year but will be checked approximately 6 months after deployment. Cameras will be configured so as to be capable of multiple approaches to estimate densities from unmarked individuals.

Website:
https://friresearch.ca/project/using-camera-traps-to-estimate-density-and-popul…
Organization:
fRI Research

Collaborative research and monitoring of migratory Eastern Cape Chruchill caribou

The Cape Churchill caribou herd, part of the Eastern Migratory caribou population, resides along the western coast of Hudson Bay and has been largely unstudied. However, they are locally important to hunters and visiting tourists, as well as an ecological keystone species as a grazer and prey source. As a product of the 2020 Beyond Borders Caribou Workshop, we developed a collaborative team of academic researchers, Parks Canada staff, and Manitoba Métis Federation staff. Our on-going efforts have focused on developing and fortifying relationships and identifying common goals centered around caribou conservation and the greater ecosystem. The summer range of the Cape Churchill herd is almost completely protected by Wapusk National Park, however the winter range is largely unprotected, existing outside of the park boundaries. The development of a proposed Indigenous Protected Conservation Area (IPCA), led by the Manitoba Métis Federation is a priority goal of our group, with caribou being its focal species. Our objectives are to: (1) monitor the Cape Churchill herd annually to estimate population composition and long-term trends, (2) develop and monitor a grid of n=97 trail cameras on summer range to characterize caribou occurrences, group size, arrival and departure dates to and from seasonal ranges, (3) continue our 23 years of intensive habitat monitoring, (4) monitor the impacts of fire on the winter range using remote sensing, (5) study wolf occurrences in relation to caribou on summer range, (6) incorporate local and traditional knowledge, and (7) engage local and Indigenous youth and elders.

Organization:
Manitoba Métis Federation
Parks Canada Agency
University of Saskatchewan (UofS)
Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI)
University of Manitoba