Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks
Abstract Observed links between parasites, such as ticks, and climate change have aroused concern for human health, wildlife population dynamics, and broader ecosystem effects. The one‐host life history of the winter tick ( Dermacentor albipictus ) links each annual cohort to environmental condition...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4799 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4799 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ecs2.4799 2024-06-02T07:54:39+00:00 Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks DeCesare, Nicholas J. Harris, Richard B. Atwood, M. Paul Bergman, Eric J. Courtemanch, Alyson B. Cross, Paul C. Fralick, Gary L. Hersey, Kent R. Hurley, Mark A. Koser, Troy M. Levine, Rebecca L. Monteith, Kevin L. Newby, Jesse R. Peterson, Collin J. Robertson, Samuel Wise, Benjamin L. Safari Club International Foundation Wyoming Game and Fish Department 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4799 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4799 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecosphere volume 15, issue 3 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4799 2024-05-03T11:36:08Z Abstract Observed links between parasites, such as ticks, and climate change have aroused concern for human health, wildlife population dynamics, and broader ecosystem effects. The one‐host life history of the winter tick ( Dermacentor albipictus ) links each annual cohort to environmental conditions during three specific time periods when they are predictably vulnerable: spring detachment from hosts, summer larval stage, and fall questing for hosts. We used mixed‐effects generalized linear models to investigate the drivers of tick loads carried by moose ( Alces alces ) relative to these time periods and across 750 moose, 10 years, and 16 study areas in the western United States. We tested for the effects of biotic factors (moose density, shared winter range, vegetation, migratory behavior) and weather conditions (temperature, snow, humidity) during each seasonal period when ticks are vulnerable and off‐host. We found that warm climatic regions, warm seasonal periods across multiple partitions of the annual tick life cycle, and warm years relative to long‐term averages each contributed to increased tick loads. We also found important effects of snow and other biotic factors such as host density and vegetation. Tick loads in the western United States were, on average, lower than those where tick‐related die‐offs in moose populations have occurred recently, but loads carried by some individuals may be sufficient to cause mortality. Lastly, we found interannual variation in tick loads to be most correlated with spring snowpack, suggesting this environmental component may have the highest potential to induce change in tick load dynamics in the immediate future of this region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Wiley Online Library Ecosphere 15 3 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Observed links between parasites, such as ticks, and climate change have aroused concern for human health, wildlife population dynamics, and broader ecosystem effects. The one‐host life history of the winter tick ( Dermacentor albipictus ) links each annual cohort to environmental conditions during three specific time periods when they are predictably vulnerable: spring detachment from hosts, summer larval stage, and fall questing for hosts. We used mixed‐effects generalized linear models to investigate the drivers of tick loads carried by moose ( Alces alces ) relative to these time periods and across 750 moose, 10 years, and 16 study areas in the western United States. We tested for the effects of biotic factors (moose density, shared winter range, vegetation, migratory behavior) and weather conditions (temperature, snow, humidity) during each seasonal period when ticks are vulnerable and off‐host. We found that warm climatic regions, warm seasonal periods across multiple partitions of the annual tick life cycle, and warm years relative to long‐term averages each contributed to increased tick loads. We also found important effects of snow and other biotic factors such as host density and vegetation. Tick loads in the western United States were, on average, lower than those where tick‐related die‐offs in moose populations have occurred recently, but loads carried by some individuals may be sufficient to cause mortality. Lastly, we found interannual variation in tick loads to be most correlated with spring snowpack, suggesting this environmental component may have the highest potential to induce change in tick load dynamics in the immediate future of this region. |
author2 |
Safari Club International Foundation Wyoming Game and Fish Department |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
DeCesare, Nicholas J. Harris, Richard B. Atwood, M. Paul Bergman, Eric J. Courtemanch, Alyson B. Cross, Paul C. Fralick, Gary L. Hersey, Kent R. Hurley, Mark A. Koser, Troy M. Levine, Rebecca L. Monteith, Kevin L. Newby, Jesse R. Peterson, Collin J. Robertson, Samuel Wise, Benjamin L. |
spellingShingle |
DeCesare, Nicholas J. Harris, Richard B. Atwood, M. Paul Bergman, Eric J. Courtemanch, Alyson B. Cross, Paul C. Fralick, Gary L. Hersey, Kent R. Hurley, Mark A. Koser, Troy M. Levine, Rebecca L. Monteith, Kevin L. Newby, Jesse R. Peterson, Collin J. Robertson, Samuel Wise, Benjamin L. Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
author_facet |
DeCesare, Nicholas J. Harris, Richard B. Atwood, M. Paul Bergman, Eric J. Courtemanch, Alyson B. Cross, Paul C. Fralick, Gary L. Hersey, Kent R. Hurley, Mark A. Koser, Troy M. Levine, Rebecca L. Monteith, Kevin L. Newby, Jesse R. Peterson, Collin J. Robertson, Samuel Wise, Benjamin L. |
author_sort |
DeCesare, Nicholas J. |
title |
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
title_short |
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
title_full |
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
title_fullStr |
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
title_sort |
warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4799 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ecs2.4799 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Ecosphere volume 15, issue 3 ISSN 2150-8925 2150-8925 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4799 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1800742556907077632 |