| The effects of an abundant ectoparasite, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi), on the health of moose (Alces alces) in Finland. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22645032 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The deer ked (Lipoptena cervi, Diptera, Hippoboscidae) is a haematophagous parasitic fly of the moose (Alces alces) and other cervids, and it is very common in southern and central parts of Finland. The aim of this study was to determine how the intensive parasitism caused by the deer ked affects the health and welfare of the moose. Moose blood samples (n = 78) were collected from deer ked-infested and ked-free regions at 62-68° N and analysed for haematology and clinical chemistry. In addition, tissue samples of moose (n = 23) were collected from a deer ked-infested region at 62° N to determine how the parasite load correlates to several physiological variables of the host. The differences in the blood and plasma values between the deer ked-free and ked-infested animals were minor. In the infested regions, the moose had higher mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentrations unlikely to have been caused by the parasitism. The intensities of deer keds had no consistent correlations with the values of plasma clinical chemistry, endocrinology, amino acids, tissue enzyme activities or body energy stores. However, the hepatic percentages of several individual n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the n-3 PUFA sum correlated inversely with the intensity and density of deer keds. Although a wide array of physiological variables was determined, only minor effects caused by the heavy deer ked parasitism could be detected, suggesting that the moose might tolerate this parasite relatively well. |
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Authors:
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Tommi Paakkonen; Anne-Mari Mustonen; Reijo Käkelä; Sauli Laaksonen; Milla Solismaa; Jari Aho; Katri Puukka; Petteri Nieminen |
Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-5-29 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Parasitology research Volume: - ISSN: 1432-1955 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2012 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-5-30 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8703571 Medline TA: Parasitol Res Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland, tommi.paakkonen@uef.fi. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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