Part I: Osteology as a Means of Assessing Florida Panther Health

Abstract

Conservation efforts to reverse the negative effects of inbreeding in an isolated population of Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) resulted in the release of eight Texas females into Florida in 1995 (Seal 1994; Johnson et al. 1998). Since that time, Florida panthers have shown increased productivity, range expansion, and the reversal of a suite of deleterious morphological and physiological effects of inbreeding. (Land et al. 2005, Pimm et al. 2006). Previously described bone pathologies in the Florida panther may result from a compromised immune system due to inbreeding, poor health related to diet and nutrition, or the presence of previously undetected pathogenic diseases. We examine the current collection of 140 post-cranial skeletons to determine the frequency of trauma, infection, arthritis, and incidence of Harris Lines. Harris lines, visible from X-rays of long bones, represent a cessation of growth due to a major episode of starvation or illness. We compare the population born before and after 1995 to examine changes over a time line that includes genetic, biomedical, and management interventions. Our data support earlier findings that there are idiopathic bone pathologies that exist in the Florida population, and we explore possible causes. Multivariate analysis reveals that Harris Lines and osteopathologies increase with age, and those pathologies affect males more than females, and both show increases after two years of age. There is a reduction in the number and severity of osteopathologies in panthers born after 1995; however, the demographics of our population (as represented in the museum sample) have shifted from an “aged” population to one that includes a disproportionately large number of young animals (<2 years old). It is likely that more than one biological process is operating to produce this result, and the study of osteological material alone cannot provide definitive diagnoses. Advanced studies in the pathology of human arthritis offer intriguing insights, and we expect at least some of their findings to have application in wildlife disease studies. Our results, together with the rich resource of archival material, leads to new cooperative research opportunities between museums, wildlife biologists, and wildlife veterinarians in the efforts to improve the conservation status of Florida panthers.