Modeling habitat correlates of chronic wasting disease and identifying areas of higher risk in the San Andres Mountains of southcentral New Mexico.

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Modeling habitat correlates of chronic wasting disease and identifying areas of higher risk in the San Andres Mountains of southcentral New Mexico.: This announcement is for US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) San Andres National Wildlife Refuge (SANWR), New Mexico, Region 2, FY 2009. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a relatively recently recognized generalized disease of deer (Odocoileus spp.) and elk (Cervus elaphus) in North America (Williams et al. 2001, 2002). CWD is characterized by emaciation, neurological impairment, and eventual death of infected individuals. Uncertainty still exists as to whether CWD-associated protease-resistant prion protein (PrPCWD) is a transmissible infectious agent (supported by the preponderance of evidence), a product of spontaneous mutation, or both. CWD is characterized by low prevalence and low morbidity. If infectious, because the mode of transmission is uncertain, CWD may be either contagious (i.e., capable of being directly transferred from a sick individual to another susceptible host), noncontagious (indirectly acquired from the environment), or both. CWD was first documented in mule deer (O. hemionus) in the San Andres Mountains (SAM) of southcentral New Mexico in June 2002 with the confirmation of a single case on White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). Subsequently, 14 additional deer have tested positive for CWD, with all cases to date associated with 3 distinct geographic areas in the SAM: the WSMR Headquarters area, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Dripping Springs Recreational area and surrounding BLM lands; and a single positive from the Stallion Range Center area of WSMR. Modeling of potential population-level impacts of CWD suggested that CWD could decimate elk and deer populations. However, values for model inputs were speculative and assumptions regarding rates and modes of transmission, especially the assumption of frequency-dependent transfer, were questionable and could result only in extinction of the host population. Further, both direct transfer among deer or indirect acquisition from the environment are influenced by movement and habitat use patterns of mule deer and the ecological factors that drive deer habitat use, which are variable throughout mule deer range including the SAM.