Population Dynamics of White-Tailed Deer in a Chronic Wasting Disease Endemic Area in Arkansas
Population Dynamics of White-Tailed Deer in a Chronic Wasting Disease Endemic Area in Arkansas Monday February 17, 2025 4:40pm - 5:00pm EST Chesapeake ABCD
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease of cervids, considered to be one of the greatest threats to white-tailed deer populations. Effective management for CWD hinges on understanding how abundance, survival and recruitment are affected by the disease. Using 3 years of data from GPS collars, radio telemetry, trail cameras, and CWD testing of both live and deceased deer, we investigated the effects of CWD on population demographics for a white-tailed deer population in Arkansas’ CWD management zone. We analyzed our data using an integrated hierarchical model in a Bayesian framework to estimate survival, recruitment, movement and disease transmission across 3 study sites with different levels of CWD prevalence. Sample CWD prevalence from both ante- and postmortem sample testing was >20%. Deer that tested positive for CWD had lower annual survival and reproductive rates than presumed negative deer. Populations with the highest prevalence of CWD had lower densities and higher female to male sex ratios. Our results provide insights into the dynamics of CWD in the Southeastern United States and suggest CWD is working in concert with environmental factors to alter age structure and reduce population abundance.
Speakers avatar for Heather Gaya Heather Gaya Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Georgia
https://sedsg2025.sched.com/event/1tx4E/population-dynamics-of-white-tailed-deer-in-a-chronic-wasting-disease-endemic-area-in-arkansas
Deer in Arkansas test positive for chronic wasting disease
December 27, 2025
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nvxd7lDyN0
CWD in Arkansas: Story of Deer 275, and the five-year, collaborative research project to investigate the impacts of CWD on white-tailed deer in Arkansas
“To date, average overall CWD prevalence among all deer is 42% with higher prevalence in Erbie (66%, N=12), when compared to Tyler Bend (46%, N=50) or Gene Rush (32%, N=77).”
Deer 275 was part of a five-year, collaborative research project to investigate the impacts of CWD on white-tailed deer in Arkansas. The project is currently in the fourth and final field season. This study is a comprehensive, multifaceted research program to estimate deer abundance, evaluate influence of CWD on demographic and behavioral parameters, determine infection rates relative to these parameters, and develop a spatially explicit population model that will forecast effects of agency management actions on the future spread and prevalence of CWD and the consequences to the white-tailed deer herd.
This was an expansive study with deer capture in the winter (adults) and summer (fawns) months, as well as >270 game cameras running year-round. Throughout the four years of this Deer 275 at the time of field necropsy showing the skinned carcass and the prominent loss of muscle mass. Photo by Marcelo Jorge study, researchers collected data from 236 adult deer and 172 fawns located across three study sites in Newton and Searcy Counties: Erbie, Gene Rush, Tyler Bend. All mortalities are promptly investigated in the field and carcasses and/or tissues are shipped to SCWDS for diagnostic investigation to determine cause of death. Between 2021 and 2023, only 58% and 37% of collared adults and fawns survived, respectively. To date, average overall CWD prevalence among all deer is 42% with higher prevalence in Erbie (66%, N=12), when compared to Tyler Bend (46%, N=50) or Gene Rush (32%, N=77). Prevalence also differed between sexes with bucks (53%, N=55) having higher rates of CWD than does (33%, N=74). As we approach the end of this multi-year study, monitoring of collared animals, collection of postmortem samples, and laboratory investigation and analyses continue.
During largescale population studies of this nature, details of individual stories get left behind, stories like that of Deer 275. She was not a unique deer within the study; to date, 17% of collared adult deer have had CWD as the primary postmortem finding. Deer 275's story highlights how CWD can take years to develop in an individual deer but always ends in death. Additionally, her unborn fawn is a stark reminder that not only are adults dying of this disease, but also their lifetime reproductive potential is reduced. With this and other studies, researchers gain a clearer picture of how to mitigate and manage this unrelenting disease. This project, led by University of Georgia's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, is a large collaboration between SCWDS, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the National Park Service, Colorado State University, and the United States Forest Service with funding contributions by the CWD Alliance, Cabela Family Foundation, Boone and Crockett Club, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration Program.
Prepared by Marcelo Jorge, Mark Ruder, Lisa Jorge; UGA Warnell authors: Gino D'Angelo, Richard Chandler, and Mike Chamberlain
72 Chronic Wasting Disease Complicates Traditional Survival in in Northwestern Arkansas
Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 Rocky Mountain National Park Tour 7:00 AM- 6:00 PM
Marcelo Jorge', Lisa Jorge', Dana Jarosinski', Mark Ruder',2, Michael Chamberlain', Gino D'Angelo', Richard Chandler' 'University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Athens, USA
Abstract
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease that is contagious to captive and wild cervids. As CWD has been discovered throughout the United States and Internationally, concern has grown over the long-term viability of cervid populations within CWD endemic regions. Some studies have modeled population declines in white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk within CWD endemic areas, but most of these studies have occurred in areas where CWD has been present for decades. We investigated survival probabilities of CWD positive and presumed negative white-tailed deer within Arkansas' CWD management zone where CWD was first detected in 2016. Deer were captured and affixed with GPS collars and rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (RAMALT) were collected for testing. If a mortality occurred, the obex region of the brain stem and retropharyngeal lymph nodes were also collected and tested Sample CWD prevalence was high for a relatively recently detected population. We used a parametric survival model with time-varying covariates to investigate the factors that impacted survival. To date, survival has been lower than in most studies for white-tailed deer from CWD endemic areas so little time after first detecting it. Daily terrain ruggedness index, daily terrain roughness, and daily temperature were positively correlated with survival. Deer that tested positive for CWD had lower survival than those that tested negative. Our results suggest that CWD is reducing annual survival, and CWD may be working in concert with environmental factors (e.g., landscape structure and weather) and other diseases to reduce the long-term viability of cervid populations.
Arkansas Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Response 2023-2024 Annual Report
Creator verity.callahan@agfc.ar.gov
Modified Jan 27, 2025 by verity.callahan@agfc.ar.gov
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of deer, elk and other related species. Insidious in its nature, CWD has a prolonged course in both individual animals and populations. At higher prevalence (20-30 percent or greater), the disease becomes a significant source of additive mortality, robbing deer populations of their health and resilience. The threat CWD poses to wildlite populations, the ecosystems they occupy and the cultural uses they sustain cannot be overstated. Through that lens, CWD represents one of the greatest conservation challenges we face in Arkansas and across North America.
Arkansas's 2023-24 CWD surveillance season (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024)
marked the eighth complete season since detection of the disease in the state in 2016. Multifaceted surveillance efforts accomplished the second highest statewide annual total for white-tailed deer tested. The vast majority of these samples were voluntarily provided by Arkansas hunters, but total testing continues to be relatively small in proportion to the state's total deer harvest.
Surveillance efforts outside existing CWD management zones monitor for new cases in areas where the disease has not yet been detected. Early detection is critical for implementing effective management strategies.
Approximately two thirds of Arkansas counties remain outside of a CWD management zone. Within the CWD management zones, surveillance efforts provide valuable information about changes in disease prevalence over time.
The majority of Arkansas's CWD-affected counties (Tier || counties) remain at a low prevalence, but active, sustained management will be necessary to maintain those conditions long term. CWD prevalence continues to rise in the five counties designated Tier I counties, exceeding levels predicted to cause negative, population-level impacts. Research in this area is ongoing, and AGFC staff continue to explore emerging science, looking for new tools and better ways to manage this challenging issue.
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SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING
Surveillance is a systematic way of testing for diseases that helps document their distribution and prevalence in a population. Surveillance can detect changes in the occurrence of a known disease or the introduction of a new one. Unlike management, the goal of surveillance is not to change the outcome of a disease outbreak; the goal of surveillance is to provide information that informs management or other actions. Surveillance is a critical component of AGFC CWD efforts, but this disease can be difficult to detect because of its uneven or patchy distribution on the landscape. AGFC uses a statewide, weighted surveillance strategy to help overcome this challenge.
Surveillance for CWD in Arkansas began in 1997 for elk and 2003 for white-tailed deer (WTD). The disease was first detected in the state in 2016, and surveillance efforts have increased significantly since that time. Since 2016, 574 elk, 59,078 WTD and 29 exotic cervids have been tested for CWD by the agency; of these, 54 elk and 1,733 WTD have tested positive.
The annual surveillance season occurs July 1-June 30. During the 2023-24 surveillance season, 31 elk, 8,648 WTD and 12 exotic cervids were tested for CWD; 4 elk and 238 WTD tested positive. Sampling of harvested elk is mandatory statewide, and the overall decrease in elk sample numbers since 2020 is largely the result of decreasing harvest (Figure 1) driven by reduced quotas. The 2023-24 surveillance season was the second highest sampling year for WTD in the state. Statewide, voluntary sampling of WTD has increased over five fold since the detection of CWD in 2016 (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Statewide total white-tailed deer samples tested by surveillance season, 2015-2024. Distribution and New Detections
As of July 1, 2023, Arkansas's CWD Management Zones included 22 North Arkansas counties and three south Arkansas counties (Figure 3). CWD had been detected in 19 of those 25 counties (other counties occurred within 10 miles of a known positive). The disease is not evenly distributed across the state or the affected counties. Five counties (Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Searcy) in northwest Arkansas have been identified as Tier I counties due to higher disease prevalence in the WTD population. Other counties (Tier |) within the CWD management zones have demonstrated lower average apparent prevalence (0-4.9 percent).
During the opening weekend of the modern gun deer season (Nov. 11-12, 2023), a hunter in Craighead County harvested a CWD-positive doe; this was the only new county to have a CWD detection during 2023-24 surveillance season. In response to CWD detections in two previous seasons, sampling efforts continued in Union County at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge using hunter check stations and post-season targeted removal. No additional cases were detected in south Arkansas counties. Two new detections in Van Buren County were significant due to their harvest locations near Conway, Faulkner and Cleburne counties. Additionally, the southernmost Van Buren County positive case, 10 miles from Cleburne County, was detected in a WTD less than a year old. This is considered uncommon in low prevalence areas, but the detection provides information about disease dynamics in the population.
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Table 1. Apparent CWD prevalence for white-tailed deer in Tier |I CWD management zone counties, 2020-2024 Tier II County 3-Year Mean Apparent Prevalence (%) 23/24 Season Prevalence (%)
Benton 1.3 1.0
Craighead 0.0 0.6
Crawford 1.2 0.6
Franklin 0.7 0.6
Independence 0.0 0.5
Johnson 4.0 3.5
Logan 1.9 1.0
Marion 1.6 0.9
Pope 5.0 2.7
Randolph 0.5 0.6
Scott 0.9 0.6
Sebastian 1.2 0.8
Union 0.0 0.3
Van Buren 1.3 0.7
Washington 3.6 2.1
CWD Surveillance by Sample Source
Arkansas hunters are essential to the success of CWD surveillance in the state. Of the 8,648 WTD tested in Arkansas during the 2023-24 surveillance season, 95 percent were harvested by hunters (Figure 6). This represents 4.2 percent of the 192,393 statewide deer harvest during the 2023-24 hunting season. Hunters voluntarily submitted samples through the agency's network of testing drop-off containers (n=2, 158), participating taxidermists (n=2,698), meat processors (n=1,728), AGFC regional offices and check stations.
Snip…see full report;
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions in tissues from experimentally exposed coyotes (Canis latrans) Published: July 9, 2025
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Modelling the effect of genotype (PRNP) linked to susceptibility, infection duration and prion shedding on chronic wasting disease dynamics of cervids
THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2025
Redefining the zoonotic potential of chronic wasting disease Singeltary Review
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2025
Texas CWD TSE Prion Cases Rises to 1099 Confirmed Cases To Date
FRIDAY, APRIL 04, 2025
Trucking CWD TSE Prion
“CWD spreads among wild populations at a relatively slow rate, limited by the natural home range and dispersed nature of wild animals.”
NOW HOLD YOUR HORSES, Chronic Wasting Disease CWD of Cervid can spread rather swiftly, traveling around 50 MPH, from the back of truck and trailer, and Here in Texas, we call it ‘Trucking CWD’…
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2025
Texas Senate Bill 2649 creation of a statewide Chronic Wasting Disease plan
SUNDAY, MAY 04, 2025
Texas Senate Bill 2651 establishment of a pilot program to breed deer resistant to CWD TSE Prion, what could go wrong?
Texas S.B. 2843 Directs TPWD to conduct a comprehensive study of current measures to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer
Trying to legislate CWD is what got Texas in this CWD mess to begin with, how did that work out$$$ Legislators and Politicians need to stay away and let TPWD and TAHC et try and contain this mess that Legislators and Politicians got us in, called CWD TSE Prion…terry
Friday, February 21, 2025
Deer don’t die from CWD, it’s the insurance companies, or it's a Government conspiracy?
Friday, February 21, 2025
CWD, BAITING, AND MINERAL LICKS, WHAT IF?
Friday, February 21, 2025
LEGISLATING CWD TSE Prion, Bills to release Genetically Modified Cervid into the wild, what could go wrong?
Friday, February 21, 2025
Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America February 2025
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2025
Arkansas CWD Totals to date 1,970 confirmed to date
posted by Terry S. Singeltary Sr. at
4:23 PM
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