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Volume 29, Number 1—January 2023
Research

Widespread Exposure to Mosquitoborne California Serogroup Viruses in Caribou, Arctic Fox, Red Fox, and Polar Bears, Canada

Kayla J. BuhlerComments to Author , Antonia Dibernardo, Nicholas W. Pilfold, N. Jane Harms, Heather Fenton, Suzanne Carriere, Allicia Kelly, Helen Schwantje, Xavier Fernandez Aguilar, Lisa-Marie Leclerc, Geraldine G. Gouin, Nicholas J. Lunn, Evan S. Richardson, David McGeachy, Émilie Bouchard, Adrián Hernández Ortiz, Gustaf Samelius, L. Robbin Lindsay, Michael A. Drebot, Patricia Gaffney, Patrick Leighton, Ray Alisauskas, and Emily Jenkins
Author affiliations: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (K.J. Buhler, É. Bouchard, A. Hernández Ortiz, R. Alisauskas, E. Jenkins); National Microbiology Laboratory Branch, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (A. Dibernardo, L.R. Lindsay, M.A. Drebot); San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, California, USA (N.W. Pilfold, P. Gaffney); Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (N.J. Harms); Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis (H. Fenton); Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada (H. Fenton, S. Carriere, A. Kelly); Government of British Columbia, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada (H. Schwantje); University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (X. Fernandez Aguilar); Government of Nunavut, Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada (L.-M. Leclerc); Makivik Corporation, Kuujjuaq, Québec, Canada (G.G. Gouin); Environment and Climate Change Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (N.J. Lunn, D. McGeachy); Environment and Climate Change Canada, Winnipeg (E.S. Richardson); Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, Washington, USA (G. Sameilus); Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec (É. Bouchard, P. Leighton)

Main Article

Table 1

Covariates used to model the likelihood of California serogroup virus seropositivity in adult polar bears of western Hudson Bay, Canada, 1986–2017, in study of widespread exposure to mosquitoborne California serogroup viruses in caribou, Arctic fox, red fox, and polar bears*

Variables Range Description (reference)
Biologic
Age, y 5–31 Age of polar bear according to tooth histology (17)
Sex 1/0# Field determination with females as reference category
Poor condition† 1/0# Polar bears rated 1 or 2 on 5-point body condition index (22)
Good condition† 1/0# Polar bears rated 4 or 5 on 5-point body condition index (22)
Weight, kg‡ 136–602 Calculated weight (23) matched to temporal equations for WHB
Conflict§
 1/0#
 Polar bears captured by Manitoba Conservation in Churchill, MB (24) before sample collection
Climatic¶
Ice free, d 110–152 No. days sea ice concentration was <15% as determined by SSM/I (25), within 95% MCP estimate of polar bear home range (12)
Summer temperature, °C 7.8–10.8 Mean air temperature, June–September, measured at Churchill airport, MB (26)
Summer precipitation, mm 169.0–310.6 Total precipitation, June–September, measured at Churchill airport, MB (26)
Winter temperature, °C –30.0 to –24.9 Mean minimum air temperature, December–March, measured at Churchill airport, MB (26)
Annual temperature, °C –7.4 to –5.2 Mean annual air temperature measured at Churchill airport, MB (26)
Annual precipitation, mm 344.7–507.8 Total annual precipitation measured at Churchill Airport, MB (26)

*This table was published previously (18). MB, Manitoba; MCP, minimum complex polygon; SSM/I, special sensor microwave/imager; WHB, western Hudson Bay. †The 5-point body condition index was dummy-coded with an average score of 3 forming the reference category. ‡Mean weight centered within sex before modeling. §Bears with a history of capture as part of the Polar Bear Alert Program prior to sampling. ¶All climate variables measured the year before serum sample collection. #Multiple linear regression was used to model seropositivity with fixed effect variables 1/0 (positive/negative) as dependent variables.

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