Sores of boreal moose reveal a previously unknown genetic lineage of parasitic nematode within the genus Onchocerca
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Long-standing reports of open sores on the hind legs of moose (Alces alces) have been recorded in Alaska (as well as Canada, Europe, and Michigan), eliciting concerns about causes and infection. We used histological and genomic methods to investigate the sores from 20 adult moose on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. We paired this with thermal imagery and molt scoring of adult moose to further describe sore formation and understand its timing. Severe, ulcerative and eosinophilic dermatitis was found in all moose with sores present, and microfilariae within intraepidermal pustules were additionally found in four samples. Genetic analysis of sores from moose revealed a previously unknown genetic lineage of Onchocerca. Adult moose molt and lose their barrier of protection against flies in June and July during peak fly activity, leaving them vulnerable and allowing the development of sores. In summary, our results indicate that the cause for the sores on the hindleg of moose is a previously unknown genetic lineage of Onchocerca, probably transmitted by black flies, in timing with the molt cycle of adult moose. These sores leave moose exposed to pathogens, making them vulnerable, and challenging their health and fitness.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".