The new total population of eight wolves is equally split between males and females. Two of those wolves are the last surviving descendents of the island’s original pack, while the other pair were captured in Minnesota and introduced to the park in 2018. “We come to the table as equal peers conducting this research and leading this research where I think in the past tribes were often times more passive participants or were the object of study rather than the drivers of study.The Canadian quartet joins an existing group of four wolves in the park. Moore outlined the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biological realm. The research leveraged data gained from a long-term ecosystem health research program led by the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the University of Minnesota. This enables them to continue the line of research to get better and more defined answers. “I think really doing some follow-up work on this is absolutely critical,” Moore said. It's important to note how much research must be done to prove something substantial. “That behavioral response with the mere presence of predators can impact these species overlap,” said Wolf. “Less overlap between the two species which ultimately means less disease risk for moose from deer.”Įssentially deer and moose choose habitats based on different needs and one of those needs is refuge from predators. “They utilize different habitats based on predator risk,” Wolf said. “If deer and moose are overlapping there's a greater risk of transmission of this disease,” Wolf noted.īut the mere presence of wolves can shift the behaviors of deer and moose keeping these parasites at bay. That’s the direct benefit predators - and specifically in this study’s case wolves - can have in keeping an ecosystem healthy. “We know that predators can impact disease transmission among their prey primarily by killing them - removing the sick and the weak.” “Predators are important from a disease perspective that we don’t always think of right off the bat,” Wolf said. Not only did all of this work find that moose are immensely impacted by brain worms but it provided further evidence of the vital role predators play in ecosystems. “Once the animal is on the ground, we’ll put the collar on, we’ll collect samples and then we’ll release the animal,” Moore continued. “We work hard to maintain animal welfare and human safety and often in that order because it’s risky work for both.” “The drug combination that we use for moose are very well established in the literature,” Moore said. They anesthetize moose with a safe drug from the dart. The helicopter will try and get that moose into an open area put a dart in it. “We capture moose by helicopter, Moore explained. A lot of fieldwork had to be done to find this out. "We began researching moose population decline over a decade ago and discovered that brain worm is the primary driver of adult mortality,” said Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Director of Biology and Environment Seth Moore.Ībout 25% of moose die from this parasite. “What happens is those larvae don’t have the same road map and end up tunneling through the spinal cord and brain of moose and that causes damage and disease,” explained University of Minnesota Assistant Professor Tiffany Wolf.īecause of these effects, this tiny parasite is causing a steep decline in moose populations. But for moose, the parasites are a different story. Adult worms actually live in the tissues that encase the brains of the deer. Deer and moose can pick up this parasite by accidentally ingesting snails while eating foodįor deer, things are seemingly relaxed as the parasites live in the spine and the brain near the skull. One reason is because of a tiny parasite no bigger than a single strand of hair called brain worm, a common parasite found in whitetail deer. They are an astonishing species to see in the wild but their populations are declining in certain areas. Moose are the largest of all the deer species weighing in at more than 1,500 pounds and standing taller than six feet high. MISSOULA - This edition of A Wilder View takes a look at how the mere presence of wolves can shift the behaviors of deer and moose keeping a parasite called brain worm at bay.
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