WCSH-TV6 • October 16, 2020
A new research project is about to kick off at the University of Maine to better understand the effects of parasites on Maine's moose, and how to protect the declining population. The team is led by Pauline Kamath, University of Maine assistant professor of animal health. "One of the focuses of our work particularly is trying to understand not just how the winter tick affects survival, but how particular infections that basically attack the blood cells of those who are already being depleted of their blood through winter ticks feeding on them and sucking them dry of blood, basically," says Kamath. "So then trying to imagine the compounding effects of some other parasites, and we have found in previous work that there are other parasites that are affecting the blood cells of some of these moose that could be exacerbating the issue.”