Provincial Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program

[kootenayelkslayer]

*** Please see Page 2 for an update on the 2016 Winter Tick Surveillance Program ***


Hey everyone,

On behalf of the BC Wildlife Branch and the BC Wildlife Health Program, I'd like to introduce you to the Provincial Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program. This is a great opportunity for you, as hunters, to get involved in the research of moose in our great province.

BC Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program

The BC Wildlife Health Program is looking for help from the public with observations of hair loss caused by “Winter Ticks” on moose throughout the province. The Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program wants to collect observations to monitor the number of animals with hairloss and the amount of hairloss on each animal to estimate winter tick prevalence and distribution. This program will occur on an annual basis, starting this winter. Winter ticks are a significant parasite for moose populations and can contribute to moose declines in parts of their range, including BC. So, it is an important health factor to monitor, particularly with climate change and alterations to moose habitat. The findings of the surveillance program will contribute to the Provincial Moose Research Program, which was initiated in 2013 to investigate factors influencing moose populations in BC.

Winter tick infestations can be observed on moose during February through April. The ticks spend the entire winter on one moose and there can be as many as 10s of thousands on one individual. As the female ticks become adults they feed on blood in late winter and the irritation causes moose to scratch and groom themselves excessively, resulting in hair loss. The extent of the hair loss is a rough indicator of how many ticks are present and can be observed easily from a distance. We know that tick infestations can result in behavioural changes or direct health impacts that may reduce moose survival.

If you are interested in contributing to this surveillance program by recording your observations of both healthy and infected moose during the winter and spring, please respond to the contact information below. You will be sent a simple survey that will allow you to document the extent of hair loss, if any, occurring in moose that you see. The survey can be delivered to you in paper form, electronically via email, or through a form that can be completed on your iPhone or iPad.

For more information, or to receive a survey, please contact:
Mike Bridger
Email: bridger@unbc.ca
Telephone: 250-961-5869

Or, you can send me a Private Message on this site. I will check periodically.



http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/small_moose_winter_tick_posterCopy.jpg

(http://s137.photobucket.com/user/mikeb04/media/small_moose_winter_tick_posterCopy.jpg.html)http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/small_Moose_Necropsy_Spring_PG2Copy.jpg (http://s137.photobucket.com/user/mikeb04/media/small_Moose_Necropsy_Spring_PG2Copy.jpg.html)

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/small_IMG_6936Copy-1.jpg (http://s137.photobucket.com/user/mikeb04/media/small_IMG_6936Copy-1.jpg.html)

[The Dawg]

Im in, send me the details

[two-feet]

Please send me the forms! I would love to help.

[eric]

For sure, I work out in the Del Rio area,so this would be easy for me to keep an eye on the Moose in my work area.

[bruin]

Mike! Very cool, hope this gets some involvement and success. Shoot me an email. Thnaks

[Caribou_lou]

Is this for all Regions, province wide?

[HarryToolips]

One of my T cams is in a moose wintering grounds as we speak, would the pics I get once I pickup the cam be a benefit to you?

[kootenayelkslayer]

For sure, I work out in the Del Rio area,so this would be easy for me to keep an eye on the Moose in my work area.
That would be great. If you could just send me an email at: bridger@unbc.ca, I will send you the survey.


Mike! Very cool, hope this gets some involvement and success. Shoot me an email. Thnaks
Will do!


Is this for all Regions, province wide?
Pretty much all regions that moose occur in. There are certain regions that tick occurrences are rare, or have never been documented, but I feel it is important to include those regions to get a good idea of tick distribution.


One of my T cams is in a moose wintering grounds as we speak, would the pics I get once I pickup the cam be a benefit to you?
I suppose that would work, providing the pictures give a good broad-side shot, and you can provide the general location (your secret is safe with me) and date. Thanks.

[kootenayelkslayer]

Another month or so and we may start seeing signs of moose winter tick infestations. If you are interested in participating in this research program, please get in touch with me and I will get surveys to you. Thanks to all that have contacted me already.

Here's a little tick fact for everyone today:

We could all imagine that being covered in 10's of thousands of ticks would have behavioural implications... moose that are heavily infested often spend time grooming and rubbing extensively. This behaviour can take away from time spent feeding or resting, often leading to starvation or stress during the winter.

But have you ever wondered about the physiological implications of tick infestations? Here's a great example: Lets say a moose has a moderate to high tick load of 40,000 ticks. Approximately half of these ticks will be females (only females take blood meals in late winter). So there are 20,000 female ticks that each take 2 mL of blood from the moose. That's 40,000 mL, or 40 L of blood! The average moose has 30-40 L of blood in its entire body. That means that during the course of the late winter, ticks can consume a complete cycle of moose blood! This can certainly lead to anemia in moose, as well as huge energy implications for regenerating red blood cells.

Here's the life cycle of the winter tick:
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q223/mikeb04/life_cylcehttpswww.studyblue.comnotesnoten3-ticks-and-mitesdeck8778632.png (http://s137.photobucket.com/user/mikeb04/media/life_cylcehttpswww.studyblue.comnotesnoten3-ticks-and-mitesdeck8778632.png.html)

[coyotejoe]

I wish some areas of this forum could be posted to our face book. Stuff like this - but I fully understand the need to keep a lot of what is said and sold here private or exclusive to members too.

[2chodi]

I have added a similar posting to the North Peace Rod and Gun Club website (http://nprg.ca/2015/02/moose-winter-tick-surveillance-program/) and included links to the forms as well as the iPad and iPhone versions with instructions on how to use those files.

[kootenayelkslayer]

I have added a similar posting to the North Peace Rod and Gun Club website (http://nprg.ca/2015/02/moose-winter-tick-surveillance-program/) and included links to the forms as well as the iPad and iPhone versions with instructions on how to use those files.
Thanks again, greatly appreciated.

Keep an eye out for moose, folks. We're already having observations of hair loss occurring, which is unusually early. That could be due to the warm weather we've been having recently. It will be interesting to see how severe the tick infestations are this year. Please get hold of me if you'd like surveys to carry this winter and spring.

[kootenayelkslayer]

Lots of discussion in the media about moose winter ticks lately. The season for observing winter ticks on moose is upon us! Please email me if you would like to participate in this program.

[bridger]

Sent my first report in. Works well.

[Backwoods babe]

Emailed u once already, no reply. Please send info to hunting@tetsariveroutfitters.com. Thank u.

[Sitkaspruce]

Emailed u once already, no reply. Please send info to hunting@tetsariveroutfitters.com. Thank u.

Mike is no longer doing it, there is a new person doing it. Mikes email that was sent out back on Dec 21/15

Hello everyone,
I'm very pleased to announce that we will be conducting the BC Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program yet again this year. Last year's program was a great success, and we're hoping for even more participation this year.
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Dustin Walsh (Dustin.Walsh@alumni.unbc.ca (Dustin.Walsh@alumni.unbc.ca)). Dustin will be coordinating this year's program on behalf of the BC Wildlife Branch and the BC Wildlife Health Program. All correspondence will take place through him (using the email address provided above).
Please stay tuned for more updates on the program. We anticipate to start distributing surveys and program information early in the New Year.
I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone that participated in the program last year, and we look forward to receiving surveys from you again this year.
Cheers

SS

[BCHunterFSJ]

Mike is no longer doing it, there is a new person doing it. Mikes email that was sent out back on Dec 21/15

Hello everyone,
I'm very pleased to announce that we will be conducting the BC Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program yet again this year. Last year's program was a great success, and we're hoping for even more participation this year.
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce Dustin Walsh (Dustin.Walsh@alumni.unbc.ca (Dustin.Walsh@alumni.unbc.ca)). Dustin will be coordinating this year's program on behalf of the BC Wildlife Branch and the BC Wildlife Health Program. All correspondence will take place through him (using the email address provided above).
Please stay tuned for more updates on the program. We anticipate to start distributing surveys and program information early in the New Year.
I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone that participated in the program last year, and we look forward to receiving surveys from you again this year.
Cheers

SS

This new email address doesn't seem to work for me. Anybody else try it?

[kootenayelkslayer]

Hi everyone,

We're experiencing a few delays in getting the winter tick surveillance program up and running this year, but it is my hope that we will launch by next week. At that time, I'll update this post with the current contact information in order for anyone interested in the program to receive surveys and participate. Stay tuned!

[kootenayelkslayer]

***UPDATED 2016 PROGRAM INFORMATION***

Hey everyone,

Please find the updated information for the 2016 Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program below:

BC Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program

The BC Wildlife Health Program is looking for help from wildlife professionals and the public with observations of hair loss caused by “Winter Ticks” on moose throughout the province. The Moose Winter Tick Surveillance Program wants to collect observations to monitor the number of animals with hair loss and the amount of hair loss on each animal to estimate winter tick prevalence and distribution. This program will occur on an annual basis. Winter ticks are a significant parasite for moose populations and can contribute to moose declines in parts of their range, including BC. So, it is an important health factor to monitor, particularly with climate change and alterations to moose habitat. The findings of the surveillance program will contribute to the Provincial Moose Research Program, which was initiated in 2013 to investigate factors influencing moose populations in BC. This is the second year of the program; last year we received 361 reports of moose from across the province.

Winter tick infestations can be observed on moose during February through April. The ticks spend the entire winter on one moose and there can be as many as 10s of thousands on one individual. As the female ticks become adults they feed on blood in late winter and the irritation causes moose to scratch and groom themselves excessively, resulting in hair loss. The extent of the hair loss is a rough indicator of how many ticks are present and can be observed easily from a distance. We know that tick infestations can result in behavioral changes or direct health impacts that may reduce moose survival.

I hope that you may be interested in contributing to this surveillance program by recording your observations of both healthy and infected moose during the winter and spring.

This survey can be completed on your computer and returned via email to: FLNRMooseTickSurvey@gov.bc.ca

The survey can be downloaded from the following website: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/wildlife/wildlife-health/wildlife-health-matters/moose-health/moose-winter-tick-survey

The electronic version can also be downloaded, competed and returned from your smartphone (instructions below).

It would be great if you could carry this survey with you while you are out in the field this winter/spring. Tick infestations should become visible in late February through to late-April. Please document all moose observations, regardless of hair loss or not. Also, it would be great if you could distribute this email to anyone who will be spending time in the field this winter/spring.

IMPORTANT:

There are several methods of documenting moose winter tick observations. Please choose the methods that are most convenient for you.

1) An electronic .PDF version of the moose winter tick survey that can be filled in on your computer and returned via email. Surveys are available at the following website: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/wildlife/wildlife-health/wildlife-health-matters/moose-health/moose-winter-tick-survey

2) An electronic .PDF version of the moose winter tick survey that can be filled in on your mobile device and/or tablet. Please download the free Acrobat Reader App for iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows devices. On your mobile device, please download the survey from the website above and open the survey using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Please return all completed surveys to: FLNRMooseTickSurvey@gov.bc.ca

If you would prefer to receive paper hard-copies of the survey, please email me with your mailing address and I will send surveys to you promptly.

If at any time you find yourself having trouble with downloading, using or sending the survey form, or even for general questions, please feel free to contact me using the contact information below.

[horshur]

In 1991 or 92 I lived in the keromeos area and I got to see the sheep crash that year. The observation I wish to high lite was in the stressed sheep herd the ticks were brutal bad. The other observation for what it may be worth is that the last twenty plus years I have worked with horses many with large pasture turnout and it is a normal deal for a herd of twenty to be on the same rangeland working similar for there food and there will be a couple horses loaded with ticks and few more that have a few and others with none. So my question is has research gone into why some have ticks and others few?. My gut says a stressed moose will have more ticks. A biologist suggested that the ticks were stressing the moose which was contributing to poor recruitment but I suggest that the ticks are a sign of stress.

[one-shot-wonder]

Recent hatch from a low elevation last week. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c387/One-Shot-Wonder/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160311_072958_zpsy2ozhqnw.jpg (http://s31.photobucket.com/user/One-Shot-Wonder/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160311_072958_zpsy2ozhqnw.jpg.html)

[wideopenthrottle]

the little ticks in your pic look a lot like red mites
https://www.google.ca/search?q=red+mites&biw=1680&bih=882&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjzvaz9rMXLAhUY1WMKHZDlALQQsAQIMA