Variation in the intensity and prevalence of macroparasites in migratory caribou: a quasi-circumpolar study

Comparative studies across time and geographical regions are useful to improve our understanding of the health of wildlife populations. Our goal was to study parasitism in migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) of North America and Greenland. A total of 1507 caribou were sampled across twelve herds to assess seven of their main helminth and arthropod macroparasites between 1978 and 2010. We sought to determine which factors such as sex, age class, herd size, and season best explained the prevalence and intensity of those parasites. Intensity of Hypoderma tarandi (L., 1758) increased with age for males while the opposite was observed in females. Prevalence of Fascioloides magna (Bassi, 1875), Taenia hydatigena (Pallas, 1766), and Cephenemyia trompe (Modeer, 1786) was higher in adults than in calves. Prevalence of F. magna and T. hydatigena were higher at high herd size than at lower herd size. Greenland herds had the lowest prevalence of T. hydatigena and Taenia krabbei (Moniez, 1879), a higher intensity of H. tarandi and a higher prevalence of C. trompe than the other herds. Of the herds from QuÊbec and Labrador, the Rivière-George herd had a higher prevalence of F. magna than the Rivière-aux-Feuilles herd. Our research provides the first comparative survey of these parasites of caribou across a broad spatial-temporal range.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author