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Maintaining subsistence species on hunting lands is essential to the food security and cultural preservation/flourishing of Indigenous peoples that rely on traditional foods. In northern North America, moose play a central role in subsistence, cultural, and stewardship practices but are declining in many parts of their range. Moose (Alces alces) in Minnesota are a threatened population that is integral to the lifeways of the Lake Superior Chippewa. This study, led by the Grand Portage Band, examines the shifting causes of adult moose mortality between 2010 and 2022 on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and Voyageurs National Park. These efforts, rooted in principles of Indigenous sovereignty and co‐stewardship, seek to sustain this vital species on ancestral lands. We observed that the relative importance of mortality causes varied over time, with Parelaphostrongylus tenuis and other health‐related factors driving mortality during the initial decline period (2010–2014), while predation became a leading cause of mortality and quadrupled in probability during the stabilization period (2015–2022). Using a Bayesian framework, we integrated multiple contributing factors to accurately estimate cause‐specific mortality probabilities and survival rates. The findings underscore the necessity for adaptive management strategies that address both parasitism and predation pressures to recover moose populations to pre‐decline levels. Moreover, this study exemplifies how a long‐term, Indigenous‐led wildlife collaring and monitoring program is critical to capturing these dynamics and supporting the Grand Portage Band's ongoing stewardship. This research advances our understanding of moose mortality in a vulnerable population and reinforces the importance of Indigenous leadership in wildlife management and scientific co‐production. By integrating traditional ecological knowledge found in Tribal‐governmental planning documents with contemporary science led by their Natural Resources Management department, the Grand Portage Band is ensuring that moose remain a resilient and enduring part of their cultural and subsistence practices, thus contributing to the broader framework of Indigenous co‐stewardship. This study, led by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, tracks survival and examines causes of adult moose mortality from 2010 to 2022 on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and in Voyageurs National Park. Using a Bayesian framework, we integrated multiple contributing factors to accurately estimate cause‐specific mortality probabilities and survival rates, and found that P. tenuis and other health issues were leading causes of death during a period of moose population decline, whereas predation was a leading cause of death when the population trajectory stabilized but failed to recover. The findings underscore the necessity for adaptive management strategies that address both parasitism and predation pressures to ensure the long‐term sustainability of moose populations and exemplify how long‐term, Indigenous‐led monitoring programs are critical to capturing these dynamics.

Background The reindeer brainworm, Elaphostrongylus rangiferi , is a protostrongylid parasite of reindeer that has caused severe disease outbreaks in reindeer husbandry. E. rangiferi is considered ubiquitous in Norway, though most published prevalence studies are from Finnmark county only. In the present study, faecal samples were collected over three winter seasons (2013–2016) from eight herds of semi-domesticated Eurasian tundra reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) distributed all over the reindeer herding area in Norway. Baermann’s technique was used to identify E. rangiferi larvae. The density of larvae was measured by counting and calculating number of larvae per gram faeces (LPG) in positive samples. Results E. rangiferi larvae were found in 109 of 355 faecal samples (31%). All herds had positive samples at all sampling sessions. Prevalence in adults (> 1.5 years, n  = 176) was 43% with significant difference between herds, varying from 25 to 78%. Prevalence in calves (< 1 year, n  = 179) was 18%, and varied with sample month, being 10% in Oct-Jan ( n  = 153) and 69% in Mar-May ( n  = 26). Prevalence did not show statistically significant difference between males and females. LPG showed a highly skewed distribution, total median LPG being 38, range 2-700. Calves in Mar-May had significantly ( P  = 0.01) higher number of LPG (median 104) than calves in Oct-Jan (median 14) and adults (median 32). LPG did not differ significantly between males and females nor between herds, but there was a significant moderate positive correlation between herd prevalence and LPG (Spearman rho = 0.35, P  < 0.01). Samples from individually marked adult reindeer with known age ( n  = 81) showed no significant difference in prevalence between young (2–5 years) and old (6–15 years) reindeer. LPG tended to be slightly reduced with age, but the reduction was not statistically significant ( P  = 0.07). Systematic yearly treatment with ivermectin was done in four herds, but any effect on E. rangiferi prevalence was not clear. Conclusions This study confirms that E. rangiferi was ubiquitously present in all parts of the reindeer herding area in Norway during the study period. Differences in prevalence between herds were significant, and LPG in herds increased with increasing herd prevalence.

Wildlife translocations, which involve the introduction of naive hosts into new environments with novel pathogens, invariably pose an increased risk of disease. The meningeal worm Parelaphostrongylus tenuis is a nematode parasite of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), which serves as its primary host and rarely suffers adverse effects from infection. Attempts to restore elk (Cervus canadensis) to the eastern US have been hampered by disease caused by this parasite. Using DNA sequence data from mitochondrial and nuclear genes, we examined the hypothesis that elk translocated within the eastern US could be exposed to novel genetic variants of P. tenuis by detailing the genetic structure among P. tenuis taken from white-tailed deer and elk at a source (Kentucky) and a release site (Missouri). We found high levels of diversity at both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in Missouri and Kentucky and a high level of differentiation between states. Our results highlight the importance of considering the potential for increased disease risk from exposure to novel strains of parasites in the decision-making process of a reintroduction or restoration.

Meningeal worm, or Parelaphostrongylus tenuis ( P. tenuis ) is a nematode parasite that can invade the nervous system of small ruminant and camelid species such as alpaca, llama, goats and sheep. Limited reports exist on the epidemiology of disease caused by the nematode in susceptible livestock. We examined archived necropsy reports from small ruminant and camelid mortalities that were submitted, post mortem, to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MNVDL) during 2001–2019 for gross necropsy, histopathology, and pathogen screening. We estimated P. tenuis -induced mortality over time and developed temporal models to better understand patterns and drivers of P. tenuis -induced mortalities in these animals. During the period under examination, 5,617 goats, sheep, llamas and alpacas were necropsied, revealing an overall P. tenuis -induced mortality rate of 1.14% in the necropsy submission pool for these species. P. tenuis -induced mortality rates were highest in llamas (9.91%) and alpacas (5.33%) compared to sheep and goats (<1%), with rates in llamas and alpacas significantly higher than in sheep and goats. P. tenuis- induced mortalities exhibited one seasonal peak, around October to December. P. tenuis -induced mortality rates varied greatly between years, and have significantly increased over time. We also observed a positive correlation between summer temperature (range 20.4–22.4°C) and P. tenuis- induced mortality rates (range 0–3.9%), but not precipitation. This study demonstrates seasonal patterns and differences in mortality between alpacas, goats, llamas and sheep and helps us to better understand the epidemiology of P. tenuis mortality.