Larval winter ticks clustered atop a small spruce tree in New Hampshire

Under the leadership of the Penobscot Nation and with technical support from the USGS, researchers have co-created an effective method for monitoring winter tick distribution and abundance in brushy moose habitat. Researchers reviewed the tick literature and found common analysis methods lacked rigor and developed an effective way to analyze a common type of tick abundance data gathered from flag/drag surveys. 

Winter ticks and moose are both native species in North America, but a combination of recent warming trends, forest management, and abundant moose populations may be interacting to create a new dynamic between them in New England. The link between high moose density and high tick density is clear, but researchers are uncovering evidence that mild winters and warm summers may be influencing super-abundances (called epizootics) in central Maine, northern New Hampshire, and northern Vermont. Moose living at the warmer southern extents of the moose distribution, where ticks should thrive (e.g., Massachusetts), are largely escaping the devastating effects observed further north. This could indicate that an interaction between climate conditions and moose density may affect how bad infestations are in any given moose population