Metabarcoding of moose and deer feces to detect gastropod intermediate hosts of P. tenuis

Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, a multi-host parasite, is a leading cause of death in some moose (Alces alces) populations threatened by local extinction in the midwestern and northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Moose contract P. tenuis by consuming infected gastropod intermediate hosts, but little is known about which gastropod species moose consume and the frequency or seasonality of consumption. To gain more insight, we used a genetic metabarcoding approach on 258 georeferenced and temporally stratified moose fecal samples collected June to October, 2017 to 2020, in a declining population in the north-central United States.