On Calcium Deficiency and Brittle Antlers Author(s): Vernon C. Bleich Source: Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 26(4):588. Published By: Wildlife Disease Association DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-26.4.588 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.7589/0090-3558-26.4.588

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LETTER

TO THE

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tule These (1966, 1982) with imbalances alies

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Cervus went

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elaphus. on to

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ciencies particularly vegetation

antlers

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calcium phosphorus McCullough poor antler tributable availability phosphorus

original

dum, therefore, in an effort to preclude the proliferation in the literature of the notion that McCullough (1969) associated

than be

literature.

calcium tule elk.

elk

deficiency

with

LITERATURE

in

corrigen-

brittle

antlers

in

actually

stat-

Pennsylvania,

weakness of antlers and Tupman herds by

structural

adequate, inadequate.”

GOGAN,

pp.

J.

P.

1988.

defi-

but

CITED

A. B. 1966. Das Geweih. Paul Parey Verlag, Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany, 214 pp. (not seen; cited by Gogan et al., 1988). . 1982. Physiology. In Elk of North America, ecology and management, J. W. Thomas and D. E. Toweill (eds.). Stackpole Books, Harrisburg,

BUBENIK,

This

to inadequate mineralization, as regards phosphorus. chemical analyses indicated may

this

1990

(1988)

California to calcium 1969).”

p. 121) the

is caused

is more

I offer

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p.

anom-

erroneous.

(1969,

appears that Independence elki

a!.

in tule

Inyo County, attributed

however,

McCullough ed, “It in the

et of antler

(McCullough,

statement

Disease

Gogan et a!. (1988, state that, “Norma!-

brittle

the Owens Valley, (USA), have been

26(4(, 1990, Association

Diseases.

© Wildlife

Antlers

elk (Cervus elaphus nanauthors noted that Bubenik associated antler anomalies of calcium and phospho-

in

nodes).

p.

and Brittle

Gogan

potential

Wildlife

EDITOR...

Deficiency

a recent

discussed

of

P.,

Antler

Wildlife

and

Publications

J.,

RERABEK,

gen

Further,

in

24:

656-662.

des

1969.

A.

tule

University

in Zoology AND

tule

The

ecology.

R.

AND

anomalies D. R.

behavior

that

125-179.

A. JESSUP,

Diseases

MCCULLOUGH,

The that

D.

88:

BUBENIK.

H.

BARRETT.

elk.

Journal

elk:

Its history,

of

California

1-209.

1956.

Untersuchun-

bei

Geweihtr#{227}gern

Mineralstoffwechsels

mittels radioaktiver Isotopen. Zeitschrift Jagdwissenschaft 2: 119-123 (not seen; cited McCullough, 1969).

(1969, p. 123) noted that, “The structure is at least in part atto generally low phosphorus and the fact that there is little storage in the body (Rer#{225}bek

Received

for publication

of

26 March

f#{252}r by

1990.

Vernon C. Bleich, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775 and California Department of Fish and Game, 407 W. Line Street, Bishop, California 93514.

and

Bubenik, 1956).” There is an unfortunate tendency among researchers to rely on material cited by secondary sources, in lieu of going to the

588