New York’s moose population has failed to grow in recent years, and researchers at Cornell may have found out why. The Adirondack moose population stands between 600 and 800, while numbers in other states are much higher.
Cornell scientists say deer in New York are spreading deadly parasites to moose. One parasite called a brain worm creates neurological damage in moose but rarely leads to illness in deer, which are natural hosts. Another is a flatworm that causes liver damage in moose, but again, natural hosts are deer, elk, and caribou.
“We might think of moose as being the stronger competitor compared to deer, because they can reach higher in the canopy and they’re better suited to snowy, cold conditions, but this research really flips that idea. We saw that deer are actually winning in this competitive interaction, not by fighting or outcompeting them for resources, but by spreading these parasites that moose are not as good at handling.”Jennifer Grauer, a postdoctoral associate and the study’s corresponding author.
None of the parasites infect humans.
