Chronic wasting disease alters the movement behavior and habitat use of mule deer during clinical stages of infection

Integrating host movement and pathogen data is a central issue in wildlife disease ecology that will allow for a better understanding of disease transmission. We examined how adult female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) responded behaviorally to infection with chronic wasting disease (CWD). We compared movement and habitat use of CWD-infected deer (n = 18) to those that succumbed to starvation (and were CWD-negative by ELISA and IHC; n = 8) and others in which CWD was not detected (n = 111, including animals that survived the duration of the study) using GPS collar data from two distinct populations collared in central Wyoming, USA during 2018–2022. CWD and predation were the leading causes of mortality during our study (32 of 91 deaths attributed to CWD and 27 of 91 deaths attributed to predation). Deer infected with CWD moved slower and used lower elevation areas closer to rivers in the months preceding death compared with uninfected deer that did not succumb to starvation. Although C..., , , # Chronic wasting disease alters the movement behavior and habitat use of mule deer during clinical stages of infection

## GENERAL INFORMATION

Title of Dataset: CWD-HostBehavior-EcolEvol

Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Gabriel Barrile
Institution: University of Wyoming
Address: 1000 E University Ave, Laramie, WY 82071
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information
Name: Jerod Merkle
Institution: University of Wyoming
Address: 1000 E University Ave, Laramie, WY 82071
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

C. Alternate Contact Information
Name: Gabriel Barrile
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Date of data collection:

December 2018 - October 2022

Geographic location of data collection:

Central Wyoming, USA. Data were collected on mule deer in the Bates Hole/Hat Six herd south of Casper, Wyoming and the Upper Powder River herd south of Buffalo, Wyom...