Calvin C. Ellis
Texas A&M University – Kingsville
Graduate Research Assistant/ M.S. Range and Wildlife Management
The Interaction between Mule Deer Spatial Ecology & CWD Epidemiology
Chronic Wasting Disease has been detected in 369 captive or free-range cervids in 14 Texas counties including a free-range mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Lubbock County in February of 2021. There are two CWD-positive counties in the Texas Panhandle, Dallam, and Hartley. The Canadian River passes through this region connecting regions of known and unknown CWD prevalence, and has the potential to serve as a wildlife movement corridor. Undetected prevalence in the surrounding counties and limited surveillance in the neighboring states results in a high potential for undetected disease spread. Native rangeland in the Texas Panhandle is often altered via agriculture and energy development with row-crop farming potentially producing areas of ungulate congregation, thereby enhancing disease risk. To increase understanding of susceptible species movement in CWD management, we GPS-collared 30 juvenile mule deer in Oldham County, located along the Canadian River, to study movement and dispersal patterns. We will also use a previously collected five-year dataset of mule deer movement to examine site fidelity and fine-scale selection in crop fields to understand space-use of a non-migratory population of mule deer and predict potential ungulate congregation areas. With CWD becoming an increasing issue across Texas, understanding the movement and space-use of susceptible species should be of primary concern.
