Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU

Description

The US Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), is offering a funding opportunity to study the interaction between parasites and climate and their impacts on moose health in western Wyoming given that these two factors are important drivers of human, wildlife and ecosystem health. This area is the southern limit of its geographic range and moose are generally at low population densities in the region. Hunter opportunities have been declining over the last two decades, likely related to declining populations although population size data are coarse and hard to compare across regions. In the early 1990s, the population declined by an estimated 80% and the current herd estimate is fewer than 500 animals. Rising temperatures, winter ticks, liver flukes and arterial worms are several of the hypothesized mechanisms behind the declines. This research will focus on parasites and pathogens in the Jackson, Wyoming, region with emphasis on winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) and climate interactions. Winter tick infestations have a high potential of impacting moose reproduction and calf survival. The CESU partner will develop a proposal in collaboration with federal and state partners to evaluate potential research projects, with final products being a project proposal for future field work on winter ticks in western Wyoming, preliminary data from Spring 2020 on direction observations of hair loss in moose across the region, and initial development of mechanistic models of winter tick-moose-climate interactions.

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