African Journal of Dairy Farming and Milk Production

African Journal of Dairy Farming and Milk Production ISSN 2375-1258 Vol. 6 (6), pp. 001-004, June, 2019. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Parsing demographic effects of canine parvovirus on a Minnesota wolf population

L. David Mech^1,2* and Sagar M. Goyal³

¹U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 – 37^th St. SE, Jamestown, ND  58401-7317, USA.

²The Raptor Center, 1920 Fitch Ave., University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota  55108, USA.

²College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota  55108, USA.

Accepted 19 January, 2019

Abstract

We examined 35 years of relationships among wolf (Canis lupus) pup survival, population change and canine parvovirus (CPV) seroprevalence in northeastern Minnesota to determine when CPV exerted its strongest effects. Using correlation analysis of data from five periods of 7-years each from 1973 through 2007, we learned that the strongest effect of CPV on pup survival (r = -0.73) and on wolf population change (r = -0.92) was during 1987 to 1993. After that, little effect was documented despite a mean CPV seroprevalence from 1994 of 2007 of 70.8% compared with 52.6% during 1987 to 1993. We conclude that after CPV became endemic and produced its peak effect on the study population, that population developed enough immunity to withstand the disease.

Key words: Canine parvovirus, Canis lupus, CPV, demography, population, survival, wolf.