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The effects of an abundant ectoparasite, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi), on the health of moose (Alces alces) in Finland

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Abstract

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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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank Jukka Sormunen, Rauni Kojo and Anna-Liisa Karttunen for assistance in the laboratory work. Professor emeritus Heikki Hyvärinen assisted with the moose age determinations. The hunting clubs Ristinpohjan Metsästysseura and Kaatamon Erä, especially Mr. Pekka Karhu, gave us valuable help with obtaining the moose tissue samples. Financial support was provided by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation North Karelia Regional Fund, the University of Eastern Finland, the Oskar Öflund Foundation and the Finnish Game Foundation.

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The authors declare that all procedures included in this article comply with the current laws of Finland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Tommi Paakkonen, Anne-Mari Mustonen & Petteri Nieminen

  2. Institute of Biomedicine/Anatomy, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    Anne-Mari Mustonen & Petteri Nieminen

  3. Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Reijo Käkelä

  4. Fish and Wildlife Health Research Unit, Finnish Food Safety Authority, P.O. Box 517, 90101, Oulu, Finland

    Sauli Laaksonen

  5. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Milla Solismaa

  6. Municipal Veterinary Clinic, Takilatie 5, 80110, Joensuu, Finland

    Jari Aho

  7. Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Katri Puukka

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  1. Tommi Paakkonen
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Paakkonen, T., Mustonen, AM., Käkelä, R. et al. The effects of an abundant ectoparasite, the deer ked (Lipoptena cervi), on the health of moose (Alces alces) in Finland. Parasitol Res 111, 1223–1232 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-2956-0

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