Acute impacts of the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi) infestation on reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) behaviour |
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Author: | Kynkäänniemi, Sanna-Mari1; Kettu, Maria1; Kortet, Raine1,2; |
Organizations: |
1Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland 2Faculty of Science and Forestry, Department of Biology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland 3Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Biomedicine/Anatomy, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland
4Finnish Wildlife Agency, Kiekkotie 4, FI-70200, Kuopio, Finland
5Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Konnevesi Research Station, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014, Jyväskylä, Finland 6University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 33, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland |
Format: | article |
Version: | accepted version |
Access: | open |
Online Access: | PDF Full Text (PDF, 0.6 MB) |
Persistent link: | http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2020050525036 |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Nature,
2014
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Publish Date: | 2020-05-05 |
Description: |
AbstractBlood-sucking ectoparasites have often a strong impact on the behaviour of their hosts. The annual insect harassment of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) has increased in the southern part of the Finnish reindeer herding area because of the recent invasion of a blood-feeding ectoparasitic louse-fly, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi). We studied the impact of the deer ked on the behaviour of reindeer. Twelve reindeer were infested with a total of 300 keds/reindeer on six occasions in a 5-week period during the deer ked flight season in autumn, while six non-infested reindeer were used as controls. Behavioural patterns indicating potential stress were monitored by visual observation from August to December. The infested reindeer displayed more incidences of restless behaviour than the controls. Shaking and scratching were the most common forms of restless behaviour after infestation of deer keds. Increased grooming was also observed after the transplantation and also later, 1 month after the infestation. Based on the results, the deer ked infestation can cause acute behavioural disturbance in reindeer and, thus, could pose a potential threat to reindeer welfare. Antiparasitic treatment with, e.g. ivermectin, may increase the welfare of parasitized reindeer by reducing deer keds. If the deer ked infestation intensity on the reindeer herding area increases and restless behaviour of reindeer becomes more common, the present results can help in further evaluation of the duration and magnitude of behavioural changes. see all
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Series: |
Parasitology research |
ISSN: | 0932-0113 |
ISSN-E: | 1432-1955 |
ISSN-L: | 0932-0113 |
Volume: | 113 |
Issue: | 4 |
Pages: | 1489 - 1497 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00436-014-3790-3 |
OADOI: | https://oadoi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-3790-3 |
Type of Publication: |
A1 Journal article – refereed |
Field of Science: |
1181 Ecology, evolutionary biology 1183 Plant biology, microbiology, virology 1172 Environmental sciences 1184 Genetics, developmental biology, physiology |
Subjects: | |
Copyright information: |
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Parasitology Research. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-3790-3.
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