Milder winters, more parasites: Are moose at risk from winter ticks? |
As climate change profoundly alters ecosystems in North America, a small parasite is wreaking havoc: the winter tick. This tick, now more prevalent due to milder environmental conditions, is severely affecting the winter survival of young moose in eastern Canada.
Climate change is allowing species such as the winter tick — an external parasite that feeds on the blood of large deer — to spread to new regions. Once rarer in eastern Canada, the tick is now well established there and is causing high mortality, especially among young moose.
The winter tick completes its entire life cycle by infesting a single host. In addition to moose, it can be found on other deer species, such as white-tailed deer and caribou, on which it has little effect.
Tick larvae are found in the layer of dead leaves on the ground during the summer. In the autumn, they search for a host to attach to as it passes by. Once they are on the host, they feed on its blood to develop into adults. Adults then mate on the host.
Towards the end of winter, female ticks consume the greatest amount of blood for reproduction. Once engorged with blood, the females detach themselves from the host and lay their eggs in the plant litter on the ground.
Our research team is working to understand the links between winter ticks, moose and environmental conditions in order to better predict how these relationships will........