Regions: North Slave Region
Tags: biology, climate change, caribou, wildlife management, microbiology, parasites
| Principal Investigator: | Hoar, Bryanne M (3) |
| Licence Number: | 14503 |
| Organization: | University of Calgary |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2009
2008
2007
|
| Issued: | Apr 09, 2009 |
| Project Team: | Susan Kutz (Supervisor, University of Calgary) |
Objective(s): The objective of this study is to determine if parasites (Ostertagia gruehneri) can survive on the tundra over winter. This is the third year of a three year study.
Project Description: The objective of this study in 2009 is to determine if parasites (Ostertagia gruehneri) can survive on the tundra over winter. This is the third year of a three year study. This work is to study the parasite Ostertagia gruehneri. This is the most common stomach worm in barrenground caribou. Adult worms live in the stomach of caribou and eggs are shed in the feces of the caribou. Once in the environment, larvae hatch from the parasite eggs and grow into the infective stage. Caribou pick up the infective larvae from plants while they are grazing. Once inside the caribou, larvae grow into adults and the life cycle is repeated. The amount of time needed for O. gruehneri to grow from an egg into the infective larvae is the development rate. The development rate is largely determined by temperature and will likely be affected by climate change. Warmer years may lead to faster development of worms on the tundra and more parasites in the caribou. The ability for the parasite to survive different climate conditions will also affect how many parasites are on the tundra. The numbers of parasites that can survive on the tundra over the winter are especially important because they will be able to infect caribou on the calving grounds in the spring. Large numbers of worms in the caribou may cause a loss of appetite, lower weight, and fewer calves being born. This work will help to predict the effects of climate change on parasites in caribou. The researcher has grown the parasite O. gruehneri on the tundra in fecal plots. These were set-up in the spring and summer of 2008 under two conditions: on the tundra and in small greenhouses (approximately 1.5m x 1.5m). Throughout the summer of 2008, she counted the number of larvae in each of the plots and determined how long it took for them to grow into the infective stage. In June 2009 she will count how many parasites are still alive in each of the plots. Transportation to and from the research station will be by air. All travel once at the field site will be on foot. The field season is scheduled from 29 May 2009 to 5 July 2009. If a research assistant is to be hired for the field season, opportunity will be provided to qualified community members to apply for the position. Annual progress reports and/or posters will be made available to the Aurora Research Institute, the North Slave Métis Alliance, Renewable Resource Councils / Hunters and Trappers Associations of interested regions (North Slave, Sahtu, Kitikmeot, South Slave), as well as to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, GNWT. Preliminary results of the 2008 field season were presented at the 12th North American Caribou Workshop, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador and at the CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 29 to July 5, 2009, at the Tundra Ecosystem Research Station, Daring Lake, Northwest Territories (64o52'N, 111o37'W).
