Potential foraging niche release in insectivorous bat species relatively unaffected by white-nose syndrome?

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has rendered four of Ontario’s species endangered, while leaving the other four species relatively unaffected. The causes and extent of the declines have been widely studied. The influence on remaining bat species has not. Comparing acoustic data recorded ∼10 years apart, we evaluated how species in southeastern Ontario, Canada, use different foraging habitats pre- and post-WNS detection. We observed activity declines in now-endangered species over open fields (small-footed myotis, Myotis leibii (Audubon and Bachman, 1842); little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831); northern myotis, Myotis septentrionalis (Trouessart, 1897); tricolored bat, Perimyotis subflavus (F. Cuvier, 1832)) and speculate that the reduction of the once most common species (M. lucifugus) may have resulted in other species searching for prey in habitat once dominated by M. lucifugus. That is, these changes may have allowed greater presence in open field and clutter or edge environments by the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)) and three migratory species (silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans (Le Conte, 1831); red bat, Lasiurus borealis (Müller, 1776); hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1796)). However, our results also suggest that (i) while the decline of most resident bat species due to WNS may have relaxed competition for relatively unaffected species in some, but not all habitats, that (ii) sensory and biomechanical constraints may limit prey exploitation by these less-affected bat species in these habitats.

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Impacts of White-Nose Syndrome Observed During Long-Term Monitoring of a Midwestern Bat Community

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management ◽

10.3996/102016-jfwm-077 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 69-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Joseph L. Pettit ◽

Joy M. O'Keefe

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Common Species ◽

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Lasiurus Borealis ◽

Indiana Bat ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Long Term Monitoring ◽

Species Specific ◽

Term Monitoring

Abstract White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease suspected to have infected Indiana caves in the winter of 2010–2011. This disease places energetic strains on cave-hibernating bats by forcing them to wake and use energy reserves. It has caused >5.5 million bat deaths across eastern North America, and may be the driving force for extinction of certain bat species. White-nose syndrome infection can be identified in hibernacula, but it may be difficult to determine whether bats in a particular area are affected if no known hibernacula exist. Thus, our aim was to use long-term monitoring data to examine changes in a summer population away from hibernacula that may be attributable to WNS effects during winter. We used capture data from a long-term bat-monitoring project in central Indiana with data from 10 repeatedly netted sites consistent across all reproductive periods. We modeled capture data by WNS exposure probability to assess changes in relative abundance of common species and reproductive classes as WNS exposure probability increases. We base exposure probability on a cokriging spatial model that interpolated WNS infection from hibernaculum survey data. The little brown bat Myotis lucifugus, the Indiana bat M. sodalis, and the tri-colored bat Perimyotis subflavus suffered 12.5–79.6% declines; whereas, the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus, the eastern red bat Lasiurus borealis, and the evening bat Nycticeius humeralis showed 11.5–50.5% increases. We caught more nonreproductive adult females and postlactating females when WNS exposure probabilities were high, suggesting that WNS is influencing reproductive success of affected species. We conclude that, in Indiana, WNS is causing species-specific declines and may have caused the local extinction of M. lucifugus. Furthermore, WNS-affected species appear to be losing pups or forgoing pregnancy. Ongoing long-term monitoring studies, especially those focusing on reproductive success, are needed to measure the ultimate impacts of WNS.

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Little Brown Myotis Persist Despite Exposure to White-Nose Syndrome

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management ◽

10.3996/022011-jfwm-014 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 190-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Christopher A. Dobony ◽

Alan C. Hicks ◽

Kate E. Langwig ◽

Ryan I. von Linden ◽

Joseph C. Okoniewski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Military Installation ◽

Myotis Myotis ◽

Fort Drum ◽

Wing Damage

Abstract We monitored a maternity colony of little brown myotis Myotis lucifugus on Fort Drum Military Installation in northern New York in 2009 and 2010 for impacts associated with white-nose syndrome. Declines in colony numbers presumed to be caused by white-nose syndrome were initially discovered in the spring 2009. Although colony numbers have continued to decline, we determined that a minimum of 12 individual banded female little brown myotis survived over multiple years despite exposure to white-nose syndrome. Our results also provide evidence that 14 of 20 recaptured female little brown myotis were able to heal from wing damage and infection associated with white-nose syndrome within a given year, and seven of eight recaptures from within both 2009 and 2010 showed evidence of reproduction.

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Specific Alterations in Complement Protein Activity of Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) Hibernating in White-Nose Syndrome Affected Sites

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0027430 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (11) ◽

pp. e27430 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Marianne S. Moore ◽

Jonathan D. Reichard ◽

Timothy D. Murtha ◽

Bita Zahedi ◽

Renee M. Fallier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Complement Protein ◽

Protein Activity ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Myotis Myotis

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Free-Ranging Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) Heal from Wing Damage Associated with White-Nose Syndrome

EcoHealth ◽

10.1007/s10393-011-0705-y ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 154-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Nathan W. Fuller ◽

Jonathan D. Reichard ◽

Morgan L. Nabhan ◽

Spenser R. Fellows ◽

Lesley C. Pepin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Myotis Myotis ◽

Wing Damage ◽

Free Ranging

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Foods of Bats (Family Vespertilionidae) at Five Locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

The Canadian Field-Naturalist ◽

10.22621/cfn.v126i2.1326 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 126 (2) ◽

pp. 117 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Howard H. Thomas ◽

Paul R. Moosman ◽

Jacques Pierre Veilleux ◽

Jason Holt

Keyword(s):

New Hampshire ◽

Similarity Index ◽

Niche Differentiation ◽

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Carabid Beetles ◽

North Central ◽

Lasiurus Borealis ◽

Big Brown Bats ◽

Percentage Volume ◽

Foraging Niche

Diet and feeding relations of six species of bats at five locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts were studied to improve understanding of foraging niche differentiation. Fecal samples were collected from 100 Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus), 154 Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus), 49 Northern Myotis (M. septentrionalis), 54 Eastern Small-footed Myotis (M. leibii), 9 Eastern Red Bats (Lasiurus borealis), and 1 Hoary Bat (L. cinereus) netted during non-hibernation periods from 2004 to 2008 at four locations in southern New Hampshire and one in north-central Massachusetts. Beetles (Order Coleoptera) were the major food of E. fuscus (mean percentage volume = 81.6%, 97% occurrence) followed by moths (Order Lepidoptera), with scarabaeid and carabid beetles the most abundant consumed families by volume and frequency. Moths were the most important item by volume and frequency preyed on by the remaining species (M. lucifugus, mean percentage volume 30.7%, 82% occurrence; M. septentrionalis, mean percentage volume 42.7%, 82% occurrence; M. leibii, mean percentage volume 49.4%, 81% occurrence; L. borealis, mean percentage volume 62.8%, 100% occurrence; L. cinereus, mean percentage volume 82%, 100% occurrence). Little Brown Myotis consumed the largest variety of prey (40); Northern Myotis consumed the highest volume of spiders (8.1%). Community similarity index values indicated diets of the three species of Myotis were more similar to each other (similarity = 0.71) than to those of non-Myotis. The diet of E. fuscus was more similar to that of the Myotis cluster (0.58) than to either species of Lasiurus. Results suggest that, despite faunal differences between the U.S. Northeast and other parts of North America, foraging relationships among guild members follows a similar pattern.

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Sex and hibernaculum temperature predict survivorship in white-nose syndrome affected little brown myotis ( Myotis lucifugus )

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.140470 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 140470 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Laura E. Grieneisen ◽

Sarah A. Brownlee-Bouboulis ◽

Joseph S. Johnson ◽

DeeAnn M. Reeder

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Eastern North America ◽

The Novel ◽

Pseudogymnoascus Destructans ◽

Term Survival ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Myotis Myotis ◽

The Impact

White-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging infectious disease caused by the novel fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans , has devastated North American bat populations since its discovery in 2006. The little brown myotis, Myotis lucifugus , has been especially affected. The goal of this 2-year captive study was to determine the impact of hibernacula temperature and sex on WNS survivorship in little brown myotis that displayed visible fungal infection when collected from affected hibernacula. In study 1, we found that WNS-affected male bats had increased survival over females and that bats housed at a colder temperature survived longer than those housed at warmer temperatures. In study 2, we found that WNS-affected bats housed at a colder temperature fared worse than unaffected bats. Our results demonstrate that WNS mortality varies among individuals, and that colder hibernacula are more favourable for survival. They also suggest that female bats may be more negatively affected by WNS than male bats, which has important implications for the long-term survival of the little brown myotis in eastern North America.

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WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME-AFFECTED LITTLE BROWN MYOTIS (MYOTIS LUCIFUGUS) INCREASE GROOMING AND OTHER ACTIVE BEHAVIORS DURING AROUSALS FROM HIBERNATION

Journal of Wildlife Diseases ◽

10.7589/2012-10-242 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 850-859 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Sarah A. Brownlee-Bouboulis ◽

DeeAnn M. Reeder

Keyword(s):

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Myotis Myotis

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Hibernating Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) Show Variable Immunological Responses to White-Nose Syndrome

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0058976 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. e58976 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Marianne S. Moore ◽

Jonathan D. Reichard ◽

Timothy D. Murtha ◽

Morgan L. Nabhan ◽

Rachel E. Pian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Immunological Responses ◽

White Nose Syndrome ◽

Myotis Myotis

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Age composition of some vespertilionid bats as determined by dental annuli

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z78-049 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 355-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David B. Schowalter ◽

Lawrence D. Harder ◽

Bruce H. Treichel

Keyword(s):

Age Structure ◽

Myotis Lucifugus ◽

Age Composition ◽

Lasiurus Borealis ◽

Lasiurus Cinereus ◽

Lasionycteris Noctivagans ◽

Apparent Age ◽

Vespertilionid Bats ◽

Incremental Lines

Determination of age of several species of vespertilionid bats by counting incremental lines in dentine, cementum, and peridontal bone is described. The technique was most effective for aging Eptesicus fuscus and Lasionycteris noctivagans and less so for Myotis lucifugus. Incremental lines in specimens of Lasiurus cinereus and Lasiurus borealis were clearly defined, while those in a Myotis californicus were not. Longevity of E. fuscus and longevity and apparent age structure of M. lucifugus agree with the findings of published banding studies.

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