Students 

DELPHINE DE PIERRE (2018-2023)

M.Sc.1: Determination of the effects of D. albipictus on moose health (Supervisors: J.-P. Tremblay and P. Leighton)

Objectives:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of an acaricide to control the load of D. albipictus on moose (axis 1).  

• Assessing the consequences of tick load variation on body condition (axis 1).

• Develop non-invasive methods for estimating tick load (axis 1).

<Click here to learn more about the project (French only)>

CATHERINE POUCHET (2019-2023)

M.Sc.2: Interactions between winter tick, other moose parasites and climatic conditions (Supervisors: S. Côté and C. Fernandez-Prada)

Objectives: 

• Determine the prevalence and level of infestation by the main moose parasites and their relationship to moose body condition and survival based on winter tick load, moose and white-tailed deer densities, and climatic conditions (axis 1). 

<Click here to learn more about the project (French only)>

VINCENT BONIN-PALARDY (2022- )

M.Sc.3: Factors determining winter survival of moose calves (Alces alces) in eastern Canada (Supervisors: J.-P. Tremblay and S. Côté)

Objectives:

• Identify the factors influencing calf mortality in winter (axis 1).

• Determine if mortality caused by the winter tick is additive or compensatory to other sources of mortality (axis 1).

FLORENT DÉRY (2020- )

Ph.D.1: Near-term iterative forecast (NTIF) in northern ecosystems: models based on trophic interactions and climate variations (Supervisors: J.-P. Tremblay, S. Côté and N.G. Yoccoz)

Objectives: 

• Develop a collaborative science program to acquire the data necessary for NTIF models to predict the severity of winter tick infestations as well as the dynamics of moose populations (axis 3).

• Use the NTIF approach to predict the intensity of winter tick infestation in moose at three key points in the tick life cycle in the environment and on the host over a latitudinal gradient extending from the south of New Brunswick to Quebec.

• Quantify the relative contribution of different factors influencing recruitment using the NTIF approach combined with an integrated population model including young survival, calf: female ratios, neonatal survival and their determinants.

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MORGANE LE GOFF (early winter 2022)

Ph.D.2: Spatial-temporal interactions in habitat use and vulnerability of moose to winter tick infestation (Supervisors: S. Côté, C. Dussault and J. Nocera)

Objectives: 

• Determine how the load of D. albipictus affects moose movement patterns, particularly during juvenile dispersal (axis 2). 

• Evaluate activity budget and habitat selection for moose based on D. albipictus load (axis 2).

• Evaluate habitat selection by D. albipictus (axis 2).

• Determine the conditions that favour the co-occurrence of moose and D. albipictus (axis 2). 

POST_DOCTORAL FELLOW (UPCOMING )

Post-doc.1: Predicting the effects of anticipated climate change on the epidemiology of the moose winter tick (Supervisors: P. Leighton, R. Lindsay and J.-P. Tremblay)

Objectives: 

• Develop a model of compartmentalised ordinary differential equations comprising 2 main components: 1) a multi-stage model of D. albipictus population growth linked to 2) a model of moose population dynamics (see Ph.D.1; axis 2).