Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis
Of course it's climate change-related. Oh wait... the Northeast had the coldest winter on record this past season, Massachusetts had the highest recorded snowfall on record, so surely the fact that these ticks multiplying exponentially is because the winter was too warm. 
Myopia is rampant. I'm not saying climate change isn't occurring - you'd need to be a dolt or blind to dismiss it. But the convenience of laziness to draw these conclusions is troublesome.
>>>In the past, after long New England winters that lasted well into April, the ticks would jump off moose, hit spring snow, and die, says Kristine Rines, moose project leader for New Hampshire Fish and Game.
But warmer, shorter winters means those ticks are more likely to land on bare, snowless ground, which lets them live another day—and possibly flourish.<<<
But.....we just....had....the coldest, snowiest winter.... on....record.....that lasted...well into.....April....
Surely if that's the reason, the overwhelming majority of ticks jumped off the moose and died 2 months ago.
So which is it? |
read the whole article. you'll see where they say further down that not just shorter winters and ticks are the issue. white tail deer are notoriously good at adapting to new areas, and i'd imagine the shorter winters they discuss, where april is more spring than winter, is helping white tail gain ground. other parasites are an issue as well.
so, the story here isn't just the tick, it's the overall change in an area contributing to changes in the animals that will be able to exist there. moose began to flourish years ago there after being gone, and now they're going backwards.
just like when you get to areas where white tail and mule deer cross paths, mulies and hybrids take over, and the white tails go down hill. muleys will breed with white tail does, creating hybrids..but leaving whitetail bucks with no one to mate with...so, they leave for greener pastures so to speak.
it's always been my understanding that ticks can't kill a healthy animal. there's a bundle of reasons why they're dying.
'Though winter tick is the main culprit, scientists are trying to unravel the bigger mystery of what else is contributing to the deaths. Moose are highly susceptible to several kinds of parasites, and it's likely that many factors are at play.
Bill Samuel, a retired biologist and ghost moose expert at the University of Alberta in Canada, says that pinpointing a single reason for the deaths is "wishful thinking."'