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The health of wildlife plays a crucial role in population demography by connecting habitat and physiology. Southern mountain caribou, a population of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1978)) found in the mountains of southwest Canada, are facing significant threats. We evaluated the health of the Klinse-Za subpopulation within the central group of southern mountain caribou, which is part of an Indigenous-led conservation initiative aimed at enhancing caribou population growth through seasonal maternal penning. We collected health metrics from 46 female Klinse-Za caribou between 2014 and 2021. The health metrics included trace minerals, cortisol, biomarkers for inflammation, and pathogen prevalence. We compared these health metrics between penned and non-penned animals, reproductive and non-reproductive females, and nearby subpopulations. We provide correlative evidence linking reproductive success to trace nutrients but find no evidence for relationships with stress, exposure to pathogens, or biomarkers of inflammation. Based on the health metrics considered, Klinse-Za caribou were generally healthy relative to neighboring subpopulations and repeat capture for penning did not appear to create accumulated health issues. Penned caribou had lower fecal cortisol levels and inflammation markers compared to free-ranging animals. This work provides a baseline assessment of southern mountain caribou health and provides guidance on maternal penning activities in support of caribou recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance data from wildlife and poultry was used to describe the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in British Columbia (B.C.) and the Yukon, Canada from September 2022 - June 2023 compared to the first "wave" of the outbreak in this region, which occurred April - August 2022, after the initial viral introduction. Although the number of HPAI-positive poultry farms and wildlife samples was greater in "Wave 2", cases were more tightly clustered in southwestern B.C. and the most commonly affected species differed, likely due to an influx of overwintering waterfowl in the area. Eight HPAI genetic clusters, representing seven genotypes and two inter-continental viral incursions, were detected, with significant variation in the relative abundance of each cluster between the waves. Phylogenetic data suggests multiple spillover events from wild birds to poultry and mammals but could not rule out transmission among farms and among mammals.

Background: Patients with diabetes at risk of food insecurity face cost barriers to healthy eating and, as a result, poor health outcomes. Population health management strategies are needed to improve food security in real-world health system settings. We seek to test the effect of a prescription produce program, 'Eat Well' on cardiometabolic health and healthcare utilization. We will also assess the implementation of an automated, affirmative outreach strategy., Methods: We will recruit approximately 2400 patients from an integrated academic health system in the southeastern United States as part of a two-arm parallel hybrid type 1 pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Patients with diabetes, at risk for food insecurity, and a recent hemoglobin A1c reading will be eligible to participate. The intervention arm receives, 'Eat Well', which provides a debit card with $80 (added monthly) for 12 months valid for fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables across grocery retailers. The control arm does not. Both arms receive educational resources with diabetes nutrition and self-management materials, and information on existing care management resources. Using an intent-to-treat analysis, primary outcomes include hemoglobin A1C levels and emergency department visits in the 12 months following enrollment. Reach and fidelity data will be collected to assess implementation., Discussion: Addressing food insecurity, particularly among those at heightened cardiometabolic risk, is critical to equitable and effective population health management. Pragmatic trials provide important insights into the effectiveness and implementation of 'Eat Well' and approaches like it in real-world settings., Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05896644; Clinical Trial Registration Date: 2023-06-09., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

High intra-specific genetic diversity is associated with adaptive potential, which is key for resilience to global change. However, high variation may also support deleterious alleles through genetic load, thereby increasing the risk of inbreeding depression if population sizes decrease. Purging of deleterious variation has been demonstrated in some threatened species. However, less is known about the costs of declines and inbreeding in species with large population sizes and high genetic diversity even though this encompasses many species globally that are expected to undergo population declines. Caribou is a species of ecological and cultural significance in North America with a wide distribution supporting extensive phenotypic variation but with some populations undergoing significant declines resulting in their at-risk status in Canada. We assessed intra-specific genetic variation, adaptive divergence, inbreeding, and genetic load across populations with different demographic histories using an annotated chromosome-scale reference genome and 66 whole-genome sequences. We found high genetic diversity and nine phylogenomic lineages across the continent with adaptive diversification of genes, but also high genetic load among lineages. We found highly divergent levels of inbreeding across individuals, including the loss of alleles by drift but not increased purging in inbred individuals, which had more homozygous deleterious alleles. We also found comparable frequencies of homozygous deleterious alleles between lineages regardless of nucleotide diversity. Thus, further inbreeding may need to be mitigated through conservation efforts. Our results highlight the "double-edged sword" of genetic diversity that may be representative of other species atrisk affected by anthropogenic activities., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)