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2025 Southeast Deer Study Group
Tuesday February 18, 2025 2:00pm - 2:20pm EST
Toxoplasmosis (causative agent Toxoplasma gondii) is a zoonotic disease that causes significant morbidity in animals and humans. In wildlife, T. gondii infection may influence reproduction and behavior, including induced abortion, increased aggression, and abnormal movement; however, prevalence and sublethal impacts are poorly understood. To investigate T. gondii influence on white-tailed deer population dynamics, we used four years of biological and known fate data from a deer population in southern Texas to determine T. gondii prevalence and survival of does and their offspring as a function of doe serostatus. Serology revealed 29 of 59 (49%) does had a titer of ≥1:25 on a modified agglutination test, and were considered seropositive for T. gondii. From 2020-2023, Kaplan-Meier annual survival of seropositive and seronegative does ranged from 70-100% and 85-100%, respectively. Adult survival was high except in 2022, a year with harsh winter and drought conditions, when survival of seropositive does was lower than that of seronegative does (70% vs. 85%, respectively). Across all years, survival of fawns from seropositive and seronegative does did not differ. However, in 2021, a year with above average rain, fawns born to seropositive does had lower survival (20% vs 46%). These trends suggest that T. gondii infection may compound the effects of external stressors on adult white-tailed deer when conditions are poor, but have a more noticeable influence on fawn survival when conditions are optimal. Further understanding of sublethal effects of T. gondii infection is needed to assess potential impact on survival and recruitment in wildlife populations.
Speakers
KB

Kendall Bancroft

Graduate Research Assistant, CKWRI - Texas A&M University Kingsville
Tuesday February 18, 2025 2:00pm - 2:20pm EST
Chesapeake ABCD

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