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Wild Deer Near Farmland Had Greater Strongyle Diversity in Victoria

Wild sambar in Panna National Park, India
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

Wild deer sampled near farmland in Victoria, Australia, carried a more diverse community of gastrointestinal strongyles than deer from more remote sites. Strongyles are parasitic nematodes, or roundworms, that include many species living in the digestive tract of ruminants. The study analysed 194 faecal samples from sambar (Rusa unicolor), European fallow deer (Dama dama) and hog deer (Axis porcinus).

The researchers used nemabiome metabarcoding, a method that reads a standard DNA marker from many nematodes in the same faecal sample. They sequenced the ITS-2 region, which varies enough among many strongyles to distinguish taxa that are difficult to identify from faecal eggs alone. Strongyle DNA was detected in 104 samples, revealing 11 taxa.

Most detected taxa are also known from domestic ruminants

The cervid-associated Spiculopteragia asymmetrica was the most frequently detected taxon. Eight of the other detected taxa are commonly associated with domestic ruminants, including cattle and sheep. The study therefore found substantial overlap between parasite groups known from livestock and those present in wild deer.

Samples from deer living near farmland contained clearly greater strongyle diversity than samples from more remote locations. The researchers also detected overlapping parasite taxa in deer and cattle grazing in the same areas.

Shared parasites do not by themselves show transmission direction

The overlap is consistent with deer and livestock sharing parts of the same parasite community at the wildlife–livestock interface. It does not, however, show whether particular parasites moved from cattle to deer, from deer to cattle or were acquired independently from the same contaminated environment.

The 194 samples comprised 80 sambar, 44 fallow deer and 70 hog deer. By resolving parasite DNA to a finer taxonomic level than conventional egg counts usually allow, the study provides a clearer picture of which strongyles occur in Victoria’s wild deer and where overlap with livestock may warrant closer investigation.

Sources and image credit

  1. Panozzo, J., Sakthivel, D., Gasser, R. B., Wright, W., Rawlin, G., & Piedrafita, D. (2026). Nemabiome metabarcoding reveals strongyle parasite diversity in wild deer in Victoria, Australia. Parasitology Research.

Image: Benchmark3 / Wikimedia Commons — live sambar in Panna National Park, India; representative species image, not a study animal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Disease, parasites & microbiology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Sambar Rusa unicolor Explore species European Fallow Deer Dama dama Explore species

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