Large-scale spatial variation of chronic stress signals in moose.

The physiological effects of short-term stress responses typically lead to increased individual survival as it prepares the body for fight or flight through catabolic reactions in the body. These physiological effects trade off against growth, immunocompetence, reproduction, and even long-term survival. Chronic stress may thus reduce individual and population performance, with direct implications for the management and conservation of wildlife populations. Yet, relatively little is known about how chronic stress levels vary across wild populations and factors contributing to increased chronic stress levels. One method to measure long-term stress in mammals is to quantify slowly incorporated stress hormone (cortisol) in hair, which most likely reflect a long-term average of the stress responses. In this study, we sampled 237 harvested moose Alces alces across Sweden to determine the relative effect of landscape variables and disturbances on moose hair cortisol levels. We used linear model combinations and Akaike's Information Criterion (corrected for small sample sizes), and included variables related to human disturbance, ungulate competition, large carnivore density, and ambient temperature to estimate the covariates that best explained the variance in stress levels in moose. The most important variables explaining the variation in hair cortisol levels in moose were the long-term average temperature sum in the area moose lived and the distance to occupied wolf territory; higher hair cortisol levels were detected where temperatures were higher and closer to occupied wolf territories, respectively.

Detection and Prevalence of Babesia spp. in American Black Bears (Ursus americanus) from Eastern and Western North Carolina, USA.

Blood samples collected from American black bears (Ursus americanus) in eastern and western North Carolina, US, were analyzed for piroplasms. Piroplasmids were detected in 17% (23/132) of the animals surveyed. We detected a Babesia spp. previously identified in North American raccoons (Procyon lotor) and a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus); prevalence was 22% (14/64) and 13% (9/68) in the mountain and coastal black bear populations, respectively. The presence of the same Babesia species in black bears, raccoons, and a maned wolf suggests piroplasms may not be host specific.

LEPTOSPIROSIS IN URBAN AND SUBURBAN AMERICAN BLACK BEARS ( URSUS AMERICANUS) IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, USA.

American black bear ( Ursus americanus) populations in North Carolina, US have recovered significantly in recent decades and now occupy much of western North Carolina, including urban-suburban areas. We used the black bear as a potential sentinel for leptospirosis, a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by Leptospira spp., which is maintained by domestic and wild mammals. We determined whether Leptospira spp. were present across a gradient of housing densities in the urban and suburban black bear population in and around Asheville, North Carolina using serologic and molecular surveys. We collected blood from captured black bears ( n=94) and kidneys and bladders from carcasses ( n=19). We tested a total of 96 (47 females, 47 males, and 2 unknown) serum samples by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and had positive results (titer >1:100) for L. kirschneri serovar Grippotyphosa (L. Grippotyphosa) in 4 females (8%) and 5 males (10%). No other serovars showed elevated titers in MAT. We tested a total of 125 samples using PCR ( n=96 serum, n=20 kidney, and n=9 bladders) and obtained positive results from one serum (1%), one kidney (5%), and one bladder (11%). The presence of Leptospira spp. in black bears occupying an urban and suburban landscape may indicate a more extensive occurrence of the bacteria among animals in the study region because black bears are the top carnivore in that ecosystem. Potential threats of widespread contamination during natural events such as flood or drought must be considered.