Dataset Information

Judging a reindeer by its teeth: A user-friendly tooth wear and eruption pattern recording scheme to estimate age-at-death in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

ABSTRACT: Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) have shaped the cultures and provided livelihood to peoples of the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years. They are still the socio-economic cornerstone of many northern cultures. Insight into reindeer mortality patterns is important for understanding past human-reindeer interactions and reindeer population fluctuations in relation to climatic and environmental change. Beyond archaeology, assessing the age structures of modern reindeer populations is important for developing wildlife management strategies. This paper presents a quick, non-destructive and cheap method to estimate age in reindeer in both modern and ancient populations based on tooth wear and eruption patterns of mandibular teeth. We devised the method using a large sample of Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) of known age. We blind-tested the method and tested its applicability on another known-age Svalbard reindeer mandible assemblage. The tests demonstrate our methods' user-friendliness and reliability to generate reproducible, reusable datasets and accuracy in estimating reindeer age-at-death.

SUBMITTER: van den Berg M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8248135 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Judging a reindeer by its teeth: A user-friendly tooth wear and eruption pattern recording scheme to estimate age-at-death in reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>).

van den Berg Mathilde M Loonen Maarten J J E MJJE Çakırlar Canan C

International journal of osteoarchaeology 20210204 3

Reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) have shaped the cultures and provided livelihood to peoples of the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years. They are still the socio-economic cornerstone of many northern cultures. Insight into reindeer mortality patterns is important for understanding past human-reindeer interactions and reindeer population fluctuations in relation to climatic and environmental change. Beyond archaeology, assessing the age structures of modern reindeer populations is impor ...[more]

PMID: 34220177

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Project description:Reindeer species (Rangifer tarandus, Linnaeus, 1758) includes wild and semi-domesticated ruminants belonging to Capreaolinae subfamily of Cervidae family reared in Eurasia (reindeer subspecies) and North America (caribou subspecies). Herding of reindeer has a great historical, socio-economic and ecological importance, especially to indigenous ethnic minorities. Infectious disease threats may therefore impact not solely the animal population driving it to further extinction and irreversible alterations to the wild environments of northern hemisphere, but also add to cultural changes observed as negative impact of globalization. Introduction of new technologies to control of reindeer migration between dwindling pasture areas and intensification of reindeer husbandry may facilitate the intra- and interspecies transmission of pathogens. The role of the reindeer as a potential BVDV reservoir has been studied, however, the number of publications is rather limited. The observed seroprevalences of the virus varied significantly between different geographical regions with different epidemiological situation. Most frequently limited number of animals studied and the differences in the sensitivities and specificities of the diagnostic test used could have also influenced on the differences between the studies. No pestivirus has been ever detected in free-ranging reindeer, however, a putative pestivirus strain named V60-Krefeld has been isolated from reindeer kept at a German Zoo in the 1990's. The virus was characterized as border disease virus type 2 (BDV-2) closely related to German ovine strains. The cross-neutralization studies of the semi-domesticated reindeer sera from Sweden suggested infection with a strain related to BDV-1 or BDV-2. The available data indicates that reindeer might be infected by a endemic species-specific BDV-like strain. However, the interspecies transmission of BVDV from domestic animals should not be excluded, since the susceptibility of reindeer to BVDV-1 has been confirmed under experimental conditions.

Project description:BackgroundThe effects of climate change, loss of pastureland to other land usage and presence of large carnivores are the main reasons for the increase in supplementary feeding of semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Fennoscandia over the last decades. Feeding might expose reindeer to stress and increased animal-to-animal contact, leading to an increased risk of infectious disease transmission, such as infectious keratoconjunctivitis (IKC). As it can develop rapidly and be very painful, IKC is described as an important animal welfare concern and a potential source of economic loss. The aim of this study was to investigate the current presence of IKC and potential associations between IKC and supplementary feeding through an online questionnaire survey, distributed among reindeer herders in Norway and Sweden in 2021.ResultsSeventy-six reindeer herders (33 from Norway and 43 from Sweden) responded to the questionnaire, representing 6% and 4% of the registered reindeer herding groups in Norway and Sweden, respectively. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis was common, with 54 (71%) of the 76 herders that responded having observed clinical signs during the past 10 years. These signs were mainly observed as increased lacrimation, causing "wet cheeks", but also as keratitis and conjunctivitis. Autumn and winter were the seasons in which IKC was observed most. The herders reported several measures, such as slaughter and isolation of affected reindeer, to counteract the spread of disease. The herding year 2019/2020 was associated with reports of outbreaks of IKC in herds as well as being the herding year where most herders (80%) had performed supplementary feeding. A significant association was found between IKC and feeding performed in an enclosure (odds ratio = 15.20), while feeding on free-range areas had a non-significant, negative, relationship with the appearance of IKC outbreaks (odds ratio = 0.29). Finally, there was a trend in the data suggesting that IKC affected calves especially.ConclusionsInfectious keratoconjunctivitis is a common disease, mainly observed in winter and autumn. It usually has mild to moderately severe clinical signs. Our results imply that IKC is associated with stress and feeding situations and that calves might be more susceptible than adults, however, this needs to be confirmed with further studies, preferably at an individual animal level.

Dataset Information

Judging a reindeer by its teeth: A user-friendly tooth wear and eruption pattern recording scheme to estimate age-at-death in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

Publications

Judging a reindeer by its teeth: A user-friendly tooth wear and eruption pattern recording scheme to estimate age-at-death in reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>).

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