Efforts to standardize terminology are valuable across scientific disciplines for improving clarity, enabling consistent evaluation of research findings, reducing confusion, and improving the accuracy of scientific communication. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has become a marked and expanding threat to cervid health and North American conservation. The Surveillance Optimization Project for CWD (SOP4CWD) was implemented to provide quantitative modeling and data warehousing tools to partnering wildlife agencies to improve surveillance efficiency in free-ranging populations. This interdisciplinary collaboration recognized a need for a standardized glossary of CWD-related epidemiology, disease management, and mathematical modeling terminology to effectively unite monitoring and control efforts across scientific disciplines and managerial jurisdictions. Using an expert elicitation approach, we compiled a comprehensive list of terms relevant to CWD and standardized definitions agreed upon simultaneously by persons with disease, statistical, and deer ecology expertise. We augmented the glossary with terms commonly found in the academic literature surrounding CWD. The final glossary will facilitate consistency in communication and promote coordination of CWD surveillance, research, management, and mitigation across vast jurisdictional boundaries.
