Pneumostrongylus tenuis in Deer in Minnesota and Implications for Moose

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Abstract
Heads of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected from hunters in 4 areas of Minnesota and inspected for the presence of the roundworm Pneumostrongylus tenuis Dougherty. Adult worms were found in 69 (49 percent) of the 140 heads examined. There was a significantly higher rate of infection in central Minnesota, where there are more than 30 deer per square mile, than in northern Minnesota where deer are fewer, indicating that the occurrence of this parasite is density depsndent. Mean rate of infection for the central area was 68 percent and for the northern area, 39 percent. All deer over 4 1/2 years of age were infected. P. tenuis is the etiological agent of a neurological disease in moose (Alces alces) and it is likely that it was responsible for the major population decline of moose in the 1920''s and 1930''s. It appears from these-findings that, in areas managed primarily for moose, consideration should be given to keeping deer at a minimum population level.