Reindeer and Caribou

Dr. Morten Tryland is a professor in veterinary medicine - infection biology. He works in the Arctic Infection Biology research group at UiT – Arctic University of Norway, and also holds a professor-II position at Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), both institutions located in Tromsø, Norway. After a period of clinical veterinary practice, he transitioned to research and virology and pathogenesis studies in wildlife and semi-domesticated reindeer. He has been a member of Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM; Panel of biological hazards, 2007-2016), and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Panel of biological hazards, 2016-2017), and he is currently the Norwegian editor of the scientific journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. Dr. Tryland has spent most of his research career investigating infectious diseases and zoonoses in arctic wildlife and semi-domesticated reindeer, in close cooperation with Fennoscandian reindeer herders and research groups. He has lead or participated in projects in Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Fennoscandia, including the Svalbard archipelago, and has spent a sabbatical period at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. His research is focused on how pathogens impact man and wildlife, individuals and populations, of the vulnerable and changing northern ecosystems. Dr. Susan Kutz is a Professor in the Department of Ecosystem and Public Health at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alberta, Canada. She has devoted over two decades of her life to wildlife health research in the Arctic and Subarctic. Her areas of expertise include wildlife parasitology, disease ecology, ecosystem health, arctic ecology, climate change and community-based wildlife health surveillance, with a focus on caribou and muskoxen. She is a member of the CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network and led the development and implementation of Rangifer health monitoring protocols during International Polar Year. She initiated and maintains the Rangifer Anatomy Website (2011: www.ucalgary.ca/caribou/index.html), an interactive website providing general and detailed information on caribou and reindeer anatomy, caribou hunting and caribou sampling, and co-produced the Hunter Caribou Training Video (2009), a 52-minute community-engaged training video containing four “chapters” on caribou health sampling, caribou disease and youth engagement. Working with local communities, Dr. Kutz has done extensive research on the impacts of a warming Arctic on the health of declining muskox and caribou populations and the consequent effects on food security in the Arctic.

Introduction. Rangifer Health: A Holistic Perspective. Rangifer Diet and Nutritional Needs. Feeding and Associated Health Problems. Non-Infectious Diseases and Trauma. Parasitic Infections and Diseases. Bacterial Infections and Diseases. Viral Infections and Diseases. Prions and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The Impact of Infectious Agents on Rangifer Populations. Meat Quality and Meat Hygiene. Assessment and Treatment of Reindeer Diseases. Haematology and Blood Chemistry Reference Values for Rangifer. Caribou and Reindeer in Parks and Zoos. Restraint and Immobilization. Climate Change: Potential Impacts on Pasture Resources, Health and Diseases of Reindeer and Caribou.