ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE?
Soil fungi were cultured from 24 wallows and proximal control sites in Maine and New Hampshire, USA during the autumn moose (Alces alces) breeding season of 2016 to investigate the presence of soil fungi pathogenic to winter tick larvae (Dermacentor albipictus). Twenty genera of fungi were isolated,...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Lakehead University
2018-01-01
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Series: | Alces |
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Online Access: | http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/239/266 |
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author | Jay A. Yoder Cameron J. Dobrotka Kelli A. Fisher Anthony P. LeBarge Peter J. Pekins Scott McLellan |
author_facet | Jay A. Yoder Cameron J. Dobrotka Kelli A. Fisher Anthony P. LeBarge Peter J. Pekins Scott McLellan |
author_sort | Jay A. Yoder |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Soil fungi were cultured from 24 wallows and proximal control sites in Maine and New Hampshire, USA during the autumn moose (Alces alces) breeding season of 2016 to investigate the presence of soil fungi pathogenic to winter tick larvae (Dermacentor albipictus). Twenty genera of fungi were isolated, and all are considered common in a forested ecosystem. The predominant genera isolated in wallows were pathogenic to winter tick larvae and included Aspergillus spp. (in particular A. flavus), Beauveria bassiana, Mortierella spp., Mucor spp., Paecilomyces spp., Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp. Wallow soils had specific characteristics and differed from proximal control sites by having: 1) lower fungal diversity, 2) a higher frequency of primary colonizers including Mortierella spp., Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp., and 3) a more variable total amount of fungi indicative of changing (disturbed) soil conditions. We conclude that wallows are sites of soil disturbance that concentrate fungi known to be pathogenic to larval winter ticks. Fungi acquired by breeding moose using wallows might subsequently act as an on-host mechanism of tick control. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:04:56Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-338497db34c442e9b147247677402066 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 0835-5851 0835-5851 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:04:56Z |
publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
publisher | Lakehead University |
record_format | Article |
series | Alces |
spelling | doaj.art-338497db34c442e9b1472476774020662022-12-22T00:20:45ZengLakehead UniversityAlces0835-58510835-58512018-01-01545570ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE?Jay A. Yoder0Cameron J. Dobrotka1Kelli A. Fisher2Anthony P. LeBarge3Peter J. Pekins4Scott McLellan5Department of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 45501, USADepartment of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 45501, USADepartment of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 45501, USADepartment of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 45501, USADepartment of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USAMaine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Greenville, Maine, 04441, USASoil fungi were cultured from 24 wallows and proximal control sites in Maine and New Hampshire, USA during the autumn moose (Alces alces) breeding season of 2016 to investigate the presence of soil fungi pathogenic to winter tick larvae (Dermacentor albipictus). Twenty genera of fungi were isolated, and all are considered common in a forested ecosystem. The predominant genera isolated in wallows were pathogenic to winter tick larvae and included Aspergillus spp. (in particular A. flavus), Beauveria bassiana, Mortierella spp., Mucor spp., Paecilomyces spp., Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp. Wallow soils had specific characteristics and differed from proximal control sites by having: 1) lower fungal diversity, 2) a higher frequency of primary colonizers including Mortierella spp., Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp., and 3) a more variable total amount of fungi indicative of changing (disturbed) soil conditions. We conclude that wallows are sites of soil disturbance that concentrate fungi known to be pathogenic to larval winter ticks. Fungi acquired by breeding moose using wallows might subsequently act as an on-host mechanism of tick control.http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/239/266Behaviortick controlsurvivalAlces alcesMaineNew HampshireUnited StatesDermacentor albipictusfungiwinter tick |
spellingShingle | Jay A. Yoder Cameron J. Dobrotka Kelli A. Fisher Anthony P. LeBarge Peter J. Pekins Scott McLellan ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? Alces Behavior tick control survival Alces alces Maine New Hampshire United States Dermacentor albipictus fungi winter tick |
title | ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? |
title_full | ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? |
title_fullStr | ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? |
title_full_unstemmed | ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? |
title_short | ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF THE WINTER TICK IN MOOSE WALLOWS: A POSSIBLE BIO-CONTROL FOR ADULT MOOSE? |
title_sort | entomopathogenic fungi of the winter tick in moose wallows a possible bio control for adult moose |
topic | Behavior tick control survival Alces alces Maine New Hampshire United States Dermacentor albipictus fungi winter tick |
url | http://alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/239/266 |
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