SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE
High calf mortality attributed to winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) parasitism occurs in moose (Alces alces) populations along their southern range in the northeastern United States. We analyzed habitat use of cow and calf moose during the critical drop-off and questing periods in the winter tick...
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Lakehead University
2018
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bb3551569c3d43909213febf0f3adf63 2023-05-15T13:12:56+02:00 SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE Christine Healy Peter J. Pekins Lee Kantar Russell G. Congalton Shadi Atallah 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doaj.org/article/bb3551569c3d43909213febf0f3adf63 EN eng Lakehead University http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/241/268 https://doaj.org/toc/0835-5851 0835-5851 https://doaj.org/article/bb3551569c3d43909213febf0f3adf63 Alces, Vol 54, Pp 85-100 (2018) Alces alces Dermacentor albipictus GIS home range Maine New Hampshire optimal habitat questing Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles 2022-12-31T01:26:21Z High calf mortality attributed to winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) parasitism occurs in moose (Alces alces) populations along their southern range in the northeastern United States. We analyzed habitat use of cow and calf moose during the critical drop-off and questing periods in the winter tick life cycle to determine a potential relationship between tick density and habitat. We measured habitat use using geospatial analyses of locational data from > 200 radio-marked animals at 3 sites in New Hampshire and Maine. Moose selected for optimal habitat, defined as 4–16 year-old forest openings, regardless of season or site; this was the only land cover type used more than available (1.1–2.1X availability in home range, 1.2–3.1X availability in core range). Further, the proportional availability of optimal habitat within overlapping portions of seasonal home and core ranges exceeded the absolute proportion of optimal habitat within any one range. Temporal use of optimal habitat, which is available in relatively low proportion (15–20%) across the landscape, likely exceeds the geospatial estimates of use because moose spend 30–40% of daily activity foraging. We conclude that disproportionally abundant densities of winter ticks exist in this preferred cover type because of its selective use during the drop-off and questing periods of winter ticks. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Alces alces Dermacentor albipictus GIS home range Maine New Hampshire optimal habitat questing Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Alces alces Dermacentor albipictus GIS home range Maine New Hampshire optimal habitat questing Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 Christine Healy Peter J. Pekins Lee Kantar Russell G. Congalton Shadi Atallah SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
topic_facet |
Alces alces Dermacentor albipictus GIS home range Maine New Hampshire optimal habitat questing Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
High calf mortality attributed to winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) parasitism occurs in moose (Alces alces) populations along their southern range in the northeastern United States. We analyzed habitat use of cow and calf moose during the critical drop-off and questing periods in the winter tick life cycle to determine a potential relationship between tick density and habitat. We measured habitat use using geospatial analyses of locational data from > 200 radio-marked animals at 3 sites in New Hampshire and Maine. Moose selected for optimal habitat, defined as 4–16 year-old forest openings, regardless of season or site; this was the only land cover type used more than available (1.1–2.1X availability in home range, 1.2–3.1X availability in core range). Further, the proportional availability of optimal habitat within overlapping portions of seasonal home and core ranges exceeded the absolute proportion of optimal habitat within any one range. Temporal use of optimal habitat, which is available in relatively low proportion (15–20%) across the landscape, likely exceeds the geospatial estimates of use because moose spend 30–40% of daily activity foraging. We conclude that disproportionally abundant densities of winter ticks exist in this preferred cover type because of its selective use during the drop-off and questing periods of winter ticks. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Christine Healy Peter J. Pekins Lee Kantar Russell G. Congalton Shadi Atallah |
author_facet |
Christine Healy Peter J. Pekins Lee Kantar Russell G. Congalton Shadi Atallah |
author_sort |
Christine Healy |
title |
SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
title_short |
SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
title_full |
SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
title_fullStr |
SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
title_full_unstemmed |
SELECTIVE HABITAT USE BY MOOSE DURING CRITICAL PERIODS IN THE WINTER TICK LIFE CYCLE |
title_sort |
selective habitat use by moose during critical periods in the winter tick life cycle |
publisher |
Lakehead University |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/bb3551569c3d43909213febf0f3adf63 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Alces, Vol 54, Pp 85-100 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/241/268 https://doaj.org/toc/0835-5851 0835-5851 https://doaj.org/article/bb3551569c3d43909213febf0f3adf63 |
_version_ |
1766254967982653440 |