The study describes the parasitofauna of red deer Cervus elaphus from Kraków area (southern Poland). The study was done in years 2011-2012 and included altogether 6 animals. Five deer originated from the forest areas (hunted) and one came from the urban site (it died in a road accident). In addition to post-mortem examination, coproscopic analyses with sporulation were performed to define Eimer...

The occurrence and concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in 141 adipose tissue samples of wild boars, roe deer, and red deer from different regions of the country, collected in 2010/2011. The determinations of HCH isomers (α-, β-, and γ-HCH), HCB, DDTs (p,p’-DDT, o,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDE, and p,p’-DDD), and PCBs (six indicator PCB congeners 2...

Dispersal is a key process in metapopulation dynamics as it conditions species' spatial responses to gradients of abiotic and biotic conditions and triggers individual and gene flows. In the numerous plants that are dispersed through seed consumption by herbivores (endozoochory), the distance and effectiveness of dispersal is determined by the combined effects of seed retention time in the vect...

In this study, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of nematode parasites within the genus Dictyocaulus (superfamily Trichostrongyloidea). Lungworms from cattle (Bos taurus), domestic sheep (Ovis aries), European fallow deer (Dama dama), moose (Alces alces), musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were obtained and the...

AIM To determine if there are sex- or age-related differences in the increase in skinfold thickness in response to the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) in red deer. METHODS One dose of 250 mug PHA was injected intradermally in the right side of the neck, and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) was injected at a second site as a control, in 110 (51 males and 59 females) captive Iberian red deer (...

Studies concerning the relationships between sperm size and velocity at the intraspecific level are quite limited and often yielded contradictory results across the animal kingdom. Intramale variation in sperm size may represent a meaningful factor to predict sperm velocity, due to its relationship with the level of sperm competition among related taxa. Because sperm phenotype is under post-cop...

Hypoderma spp. larvae cause subcutaneous myiasis in several animal species. The objective of the present investigation was to identify and characterize morphologically and molecularly the larvae of Hypoderma spp. collected from cattle (Bos taurus taurus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the district of Castelo Branco, Portugal. For this purpose, a total of 8 larvae were collected from cattle (n...

The opening of the preorbital gland of red deer (Cervus elaphus) calves has been previously associated with feeding and satiety. However, it has been suggested to be most likely affected by some other factor or factors, possibly by excitement of the calf. If so, a calf should open its preorbital gland while being exposed to any stressful procedure. The hypothesis was tested that the preorbital ...

Several aspects of the dynamics of Coxiella burnetii that are relevant for the implementation of control strategies in ruminant herds with endemic Q fever are unknown. We designed a longitudinal study to monitor the dynamics of exposure to C. burnetii in a red deer herd with endemic infection in order to allow the design of Q fever-specific control approaches. Other relevant aspects of the dyna...