Respiratory pathogens and their association with population performance in Montana and Wyoming bighorn sheep populations.

ABSTRACT: Respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and Pasteurellaceae poses a formidable challenge for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) conservation. All-age epizootics can cause 10-90% mortality and are typically followed by multiple years of enzootic disease in lambs that hinders post-epizootic recovery of populations. The relative frequencies at which these epizootics are caused by the introduction of novel pathogens or expression of historic pathogens that have become resident in the populations is unknown. Our primary objectives were to determine how commonly the pathogens associated with respiratory disease are hosted by bighorn sheep populations and assess demographic characteristics of populations with respect to the presence of different pathogens. We sampled 22 bighorn sheep

SUBMITTER: Butler CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6257920 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature