Latest Publication

Ungulate Use of Locally Infectious Zones in a Re-Emerging Anthrax Risk Area

In this study, a team of researchers and I examined how ungulates, primarily plains bison and elk, use animal carcasses on the Montana landscape via motion capture cameras, or camera traps. Over a three year period, we cataloged nearly 800,000 photos from carcass sites and control sites to determine the individual's species, age, and sex, as well as the behaviors observed, such as feeding/grazing, passing through, inspecting the carcass, or dominance displays. The goal of this effort was to determine if elk and bison are more likely to graze at carcass sites than at comparable habitat without carcasses. Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, which can survive in the bones of the carcass and surrounding soils. These carcasses may serve as locally infectious zones, or LIZs, and have been confirmed to play this role in Etosha National Park, Namibia. This study in Montana showed that male and female elk use LIZs differently, with males more like to graze/forage and display dominance. Interestingly, in previous SEER Lab studies we have shown male elk have higher serological exposure evidence of anthrax in the population and more males died in a major outbreak in the study area in 2008. These results suggest LIZs are a likely transmission route for anthrax and they serve as a resource for grazing elk and bison throughout the year.