Giulia Costantini | SCI20FH

The Mighty Moose of Manitoba

Chapter Three Assignment
Part 1 B:

The mortality factors that affect moose populations include:

Collisions with vehicles happen frequently. Commonly during the
rut, when moose are looking for possible mates. Dusk and dawn are
also some of the most dangerous times for people to be driving in
moose habitats. The mass of the moose puts it at a disadvantage
considering the speed of a vehicle is much greater than a moose can
move.
The Brain worm is a parasite thats often found in white tailed
deer. It sits in the membranes that cover the brain. It doesnt actually
harm the deer because the worms offspring pass through the bloodbrain barrier and then pass through the digestive tract, and out as
droppings. Snails and slugs eat the deer droppings, ingesting the
larvae of the worm. They become the intermediate host. The moose
then eat the snails and slugs as theyre eating vegetation and become
infected. The worms dig into the brain tissue and cause severe damage
to the spinal cord and brain. This is a serious issue for the moose
because the nervous system becomes fatally damaged. Motor neurons
are affected start to cause weakness and lameness in the hind legs of
the moose, and then they eventually become blind when the worms
make it into the optic lobe. The deeper they dig in the brain the closer
they are to death. They soon are unable to feed themselves and slowly
die by starvation or being attacked and unable to defend themselves.
Other parasites that rarely cause mortality but can affect their
health include the moose tick, the liver fluke, and the tapeworm. The
moose ticks attack the moose and cause itching and swelling. The
moose rub themselves against tree trunks to get rid of the tick but end
up making their hair fall out creating bare patches. Hair loss can lead
to hypothermia in winter and spring. If the moose is greatly infested, it
cant take in as much food as it needs to stay warm and feed itself,
which will lead to malnutrition then death. The liver fluke causes fatal
damage to the liver. The moose responds to infestations by capturing
the worm in a cyst. Having a large amount of liver flukes can lead to
liver failure and death. The tapeworm feeds on liquefied food in the
digestive tract in the moose. Larvae of the tapeworms can cause big
cysts in the lungs and liver, causing the moose to weaken severely.
Severe cold is not generally an issue for moose, but deep snow
is. Deep snow makes it more difficult to find food. Problems are caused
when the moose use too much energy to search for food and dont

Giulia Costantini | SCI20FH

gain energy because they arent eating anything to metabolize. Body
fat is used up if they continue to suffer, and the moose become thin.
Tick infestations can add to the problems already arising and lead to
early death, if hypothermia occurs.
Moose often die due to drowning in slush filled bogs or icy water.
They have also died by being hit by trains and becoming tangled up in
fences.
The leading cause of death is predation. Wolves and bears are
the biggest predators to moose. Wolves mainly kill adults over 13 years
old and calves, while bears mainly kill calves. Usually moose can
defend themselves, but in the winter when there is lots of deep snow,
they become vulnerable. If freezing rain occurs, it creates a layer on
top of the snow, where the predators can walk on but the moose fall
through which slows them down and puts them at a disadvantage.
There are some mortality factors, which humans can control to
help protect the moose population. First off, humans play a role in
collisions, and were not always able to control when a moose runs
onto the highway, but I think we could be a little more careful around
dusk and dawn, and mating season but that might be hard to predict.
We need to keep our eyes on the road as much as possible, and try and
avoid the collisions as much as we can. We can also get hurt in these
collisions so humans and moose are both affected in this mortality
factor. We cannot really control the parasites within animals. Factors
like being struck by trains and entangled in fences are correlated with
humans. Im sure train drivers could pull the emergency brake
equipped in modern trains to avoid the collision, but it would probably
cause a huge hassle for humans. Also, who knows if the train could
stop in time? The way humans function these days, were always in a
hurry and dont really have time to care about one moose, which is
very sad that we dont care about the environment and wildlife. In
terms of predators, we cant really control them either. Every animal
has to survive somehow. Its just how ecosystems work.
One thing that wasnt mentioned in the mortality factors section
of the book was hunting, which I think should have been included, and
dont completely understand why it isnt. I know its mentioned later in
the chapter but it just seems odd that it isnt considered a death factor.
That is something that is affecting the moose population for sure, and
something humans could control too.