TY - JOUR AU - Addison, Edward M. AU - McLaughlin, Robert F. AU - Addison, Peter A. PY - 2014/08/25 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - BODY TEMPERATURE OF CAPTIVE MOOSE INFESTED WITH WINTER TICKS JF - Alces: A Journal Devoted to the Biology and Management of Moose JA - Alces VL - 50 IS - 0 SE - Articles DO - UR - https://www.alcesjournal.org/index.php/alces/article/view/122 SP - 81-86 AB - Eighteen captive moose calves (<em>Alces alces</em>) were divided into 3 groups that represented 3 levels of winter tick (<em>Dermacentor albipictus</em>) infestation (0, 21,000, and 42,000 ticks). A total of 321 body temperatures (Tb) were taken on 19 occasions between late November and mid-April. The mean Tb of individuals was 38.2 ± 0.4 °C, ranging from 38.0–38.3 °C, and was not different among the control and infested groups (<em>P </em>= 0.816), but varied temporally (<em>P </em>&lt; 0.001) with a significant interaction effect between treatment and time (<em>P </em>= 0.041); these temporal differences are unexplained. The Tbs measured in this study are some of the lowest reported for moose and presumably represent the resting Tb of free-ranging moose, more so than those measured after pursuit, restraint, and/or immobilization during capture. This was not a definitive test of the effects of tick infestation on wild moose because the captive moose consumed a high quality diet throughout winter and surprisingly low numbers of ticks remained on the animals in mid-April. ER -