Peer-reviewedCC BYBiology letters
SARS-CoV-2 exposure in deer increases with use of human-modified habitat
17 affiliations
- 1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
- 2Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- 3Center for Wildlife Sustainability Research, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
- 4Department of Environmental Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- 5Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
- 6Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
- 7Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
- 8Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
- 9National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- 10Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Alliance, NE, USA
- 11Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- 12Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- 13School of Natural Resources, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, USA
- 14Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
- 15Department of Pathobiology, Wildlife Futures Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, PA, USA
- 16Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
- 17Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Abstract
Deer can transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to humans and harbour human-extinct variants. Despite this public health threat, ecological mechanisms driving exposure patterns in deer populations remain poorly understood. Our objective was to identify behavioural risk factors by linking serostatus of individual deer to their movement and space use using multilevel logistic regression. We examined serosurveillance data of white-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (O. hemionus) wearing global positioning system devices across an urban–rural gradient in the United States (1151 individuals, 20 sites, 8 states). Seropositivity was positively associated with average human footprint index and negatively associated with average SARS-CoV-2 human wastewater concentration. Seropositivity was not associated with time spent in GAP-modelled deer habitat. Together, these findings provide evidence that human-to-deer transmission could be a primary source of deer SARS-CoV-2 exposure and deer populations may struggle to maintain transmission without repeated spillover from humans. Integrating human and environmental indices with movement behaviours and space use can thus clarify pathways that facilitate cross-species transmission in wildlife.
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BibTeX
@article{garwood2026sarscov2,
title = {{SARS-CoV-2 exposure in deer increases with use of human-modified habitat}},
author = {Tyler J. Garwood and Jeremy Alder and Sara Hathaway and George Wittemyer and Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau and Tadao Kishimoto and Michael Egan and Travis Gallo and Jennifer M. Mullinax and Amira A. Roess and Taylor Anderson and Tiffany M. Wolf and James D. Forester and Jennifer L. Malmberg and Marnee Roundtree and Georgia C. Titcomb and Rebecca M. Windell and Maria A. Diuk-Wasser and Laura D. Plimpton and Meredith C. VanAcker and Daniel M. Grove and Justin R. Kosiewska and Dailee L. Metts and Cameron Mitchell and Lisa I. Muller and Mark Q. Wilber and Jacob D. Wyrick and Kezia R. Manlove and Megan Morrison and Aung N. Chan and Jennifer Høy-Petersen and Roderick B. Gagne and W. David Walter and Alec Baker and Jeffrey C. Chandler and Grete Wilson-Henjum and Kim M. Pepin and Meggan E. Craft},
journal = {Biology letters},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1098/rsbl.2026.0410},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13730802},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - SARS-CoV-2 exposure in deer increases with use of human-modified habitat
AU - Tyler J. Garwood
AU - Jeremy Alder
AU - Sara Hathaway
AU - George Wittemyer
AU - Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
AU - Tadao Kishimoto
AU - Michael Egan
AU - Travis Gallo
AU - Jennifer M. Mullinax
AU - Amira A. Roess
AU - Taylor Anderson
AU - Tiffany M. Wolf
AU - James D. Forester
AU - Jennifer L. Malmberg
AU - Marnee Roundtree
AU - Georgia C. Titcomb
AU - Rebecca M. Windell
AU - Maria A. Diuk-Wasser
AU - Laura D. Plimpton
AU - Meredith C. VanAcker
AU - Daniel M. Grove
AU - Justin R. Kosiewska
AU - Dailee L. Metts
AU - Cameron Mitchell
AU - Lisa I. Muller
AU - Mark Q. Wilber
AU - Jacob D. Wyrick
AU - Kezia R. Manlove
AU - Megan Morrison
AU - Aung N. Chan
AU - Jennifer Høy-Petersen
AU - Roderick B. Gagne
AU - W. David Walter
AU - Alec Baker
AU - Jeffrey C. Chandler
AU - Grete Wilson-Henjum
AU - Kim M. Pepin
AU - Meggan E. Craft
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Biology letters
DO - 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0410
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13730802
AB - Deer can transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to humans and harbour human-extinct variants. Despite this public health threat, ecological mechanisms driving exposure patterns in deer populations remain poorly understood. Our objective was to identify behavioural risk factors by linking serostatus of individual deer to their movement and space use using multilevel logistic regression. We examined serosurveillance data of white-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (O. hemionus) wearing global positioning system devices across an urban–rural gradient in the United States (1151 individuals, 20 sites, 8 states). Seropositivity was positively associated with average human footprint index and negatively associated with average SARS-CoV-2 human wastewater concentration. Seropositivity was not associated with time spent in GAP-modelled deer habitat. Together, these findings provide evidence that human-to-deer transmission could be a primary source of deer SARS-CoV-2 exposure and deer populations may struggle to maintain transmission without repeated spillover from humans. Integrating human and environmental indices with movement behaviours and space use can thus clarify pathways that facilitate cross-species transmission in wildlife.
SN - 1744-9561
SN - 1744-957X
ER -