SKELETAL INTEGRITY IN MOOSE AT ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK: BONE MINERAL DENSITY AND OSTEOPATHOLOGY RELATED TO SENESCENCE

• Main Authors: Hindelang, Mary, Peterson, Rolf O.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Lakehead University 2000
• Subjects: Alces alces
• Online Access: http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/625

We analyzed the relationships between skeletal condition and senescence using bones of moose (Alces alces) collected at Isle Royale National Park between 1958-1995. We found a significant decline in bone mineral density (BMD) in the cancellous bone of the metatarsus in male and female moose with age, and a significant relationship between low BMD in the long bones and osteoporotic skull lesions, indicating a pervasive loss of bone mass. Furthermore, we found an increase in the prevalence of osteoarthritis, periodontal disease, and osteoporosis after 7 years of age when decline in age-specific survival accelerates. Males experience and earlier decline in survival and an earlier increase in osteopathologies. From an evolutionary perspective, bone status at the time of death may be a consequence of behavioral and physiological strategies that maximize fitness during the prime reproductive years.