An Assessment of the Potential for Controlling Endoparasitism in White-Tailed Deer Via Drugs Incorporated in Bait

[摘要] The prevalence of endoparasites in a central Wisconsin populationof white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was determined by fecalexamination and necropsy techniques from July 1975 to June 1976. Deerwere infected with stomach worms, Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylusaxei, and Ostertagia sp.; the menigeal worm, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis; lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparus; capillary worm, Capillaria sp.; whipworm,Trichuris ovis; thread-necked worm, Nematodirus filicollis; nodularworm, Oesophagostomum venulosum; mesentary worm, Setaria yehi; commontapeworm, Taenia hydatigena; and three species of the coccidian, Eimeria:E. mccordockii, E. madisonensis, and E. odocoilei. Prevalences weregenerally highest in summer and lowest in winter. Although 10 of theseparasites have been reported from livestock, the impact of deer-livestockassociations on this deer population could not be assessed.Two concentrations of Rhodamine B dye-labeled com, 0.1 percent and0.5 percent by weight, were easily formulated and readily consumed bypenned white-tailed and fallow deer (Dama dama). The 0.5 percent dosagewas detected in all sample fecal pellets by its brilliant orange fluorescenceunder long-wave ultraviolet light 48 and 72 hours after baitconsumption. As a result, the 0.5 percent dosage was used in fieldstudies to determine the portion of a wild deer population that consumedbait during winter 1976. As indicated by the presence of Rhodamine 3dye in sample fecal pellets for two trials, 85.5 percent and 86.5 percentof the deer population on the Jordan Swamp study area consumed the dye labeledcorn.Deer were live-trapped, marked, and released, and a recapturefrequency was obtained by aerial observation during winter 1976. Thedeer population in the study area was estimated to be 10.8 (0.9-15.6,p<0.05) deer/km^2 by a Schnabel Estimate and 12.9 (2.9-46.9, p<0.05)deer/km^2 by a Lincoln Index. These estimates compare well with an overwinterpopulation estimate of 12.4 (2.9-21.9, p<0.05) deer/km^2 obtainedfrom a spring pellet-group count.Based on the labeled bait consumption results, the potential forcontrolling endoparasitism in white-tailed deer via drugs incorporatedin baits was assessed as excellent.

[发布机构] University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources