Little Brown Myotis Persist Despite Exposure to White-Nose Syndrome

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-195 ◽  
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.

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

EcoHealth ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
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

Patterns of Acoustical Activity of Bats Prior to and Following White-Nose Syndrome Occurrence

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Mark Ford ◽  
Eric R. Britzke ◽  
Christopher A. Dobony ◽  
Jane L. Rodrigue ◽  
Joshua B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Little Brown Bats

Abstract White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a wildlife health concern that has decimated cave-hibernating bat populations in eastern North America since 2006, began affecting source-caves for summer bat populations at Fort Drum, a U.S. Army installation in New York in the winter of 2007–2008. As regional die-offs of bats became evident, and Fort Drum's known populations began showing declines, we examined whether WNS-induced change in abundance patterns and seasonal timing of bat activity could be quantified using acoustical surveys, 2003–2010, at structurally uncluttered riparian–water habitats (i.e., streams, ponds, and wet meadows). As predicted, we observed significant declines in overall summer activity between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for little brown bats Myotis lucifugus, northern bats M. septentrionalis, and Indiana bats M. sodalis. We did not observe any significant change in activity patterns between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus, eastern red bats Lasiurus borealis, or the small number of tri-colored bats Perimyotis subflavus. Activity of silver-haired bats Lasionycteris noctivagans increased from pre-WNS to post-WNS years. Activity levels of hoary bats Lasiurus cinereus significantly declined between pre- and post-WNS years. As a nonhibernating, migratory species, hoary bat declines might be correlated with wind-energy development impacts occurring in the same time frame rather than WNS. Intraseason activity patterns also were affected by WNS, though the results were highly variable among species. Little brown bats showed an overall increase in activity from early to late summer pre-WNS, presumably due to detections of newly volant young added to the local population. However, the opposite occurred post-WNS, indicating that reproduction among surviving little brown bats may be declining. Our data suggest that acoustical monitoring during the summer season can provide insights into species' relative abundance on the landscape as affected by the occurrence of WNS.

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

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e27430 ◽  
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

scholarly journals Genome-Wide Changes in Genetic Diversity in a Population of Myotis lucifugus Affected by White-Nose Syndrome

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2007-2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Lilley ◽  
Ian W. Wilson ◽  
Kenneth A. Field ◽  
DeeAnn M. Reeder ◽  
Megan E. Vodzak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
North America ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Genetic Resistance ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Evolution Of Resistance

Novel pathogens can cause massive declines in populations, and even extirpation of hosts. But disease can also act as a selective pressure on survivors, driving the evolution of resistance or tolerance. Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) is a rapidly spreading wildlife disease in North America. The fungus causing the disease invades skin tissues of hibernating bats, resulting in disruption of hibernation behavior, premature energy depletion, and subsequent death. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate changes in allele frequencies within a population of Myotis lucifugus in eastern North America to search for genetic resistance to WNS. Our results show low FST values within the population across time, i.e., prior to WNS (Pre-WNS) compared to the population that has survived WNS (Post-WNS). However, when dividing the population with a geographical cut-off between the states of Pennsylvania and New York, a sharp increase in values on scaffold GL429776 is evident in the Post-WNS samples. Genes present in the diverged area are associated with thermoregulation and promotion of brown fat production. Thus, although WNS may not have subjected the entire M. lucifugus population to selective pressure, it may have selected for specific alleles in Pennsylvania through decreased gene flow within the population. However, the persistence of remnant sub-populations in the aftermath of WNS is likely due to multiple factors in bat life history.

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

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 140470 ◽  
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.

Analysis of Archival Specimens Confirms White-Nose Syndrome in Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) from New York, USA, in Spring 2007

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia Keller ◽  
Jeffrey M. Lorch ◽  
Brenda M. Berlowski-Zier ◽  
Anne Ballman ◽  
David S. Blehert
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Archival Specimens ◽  
Little Brown Bats

American Woodcock on Fort Drum Military Installation, New York

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Dobony ◽  
Raymond E. Rainbolt
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
American Woodcock ◽  
Military Installation ◽  
Fort Drum

scholarly journals Risk factors associated with mortality from white-nose syndrome among hibernating bat colonies

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 950-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aryn P. Wilder ◽  
Winifred F. Frick ◽  
Kate E. Langwig ◽  
Thomas H. Kunz
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Colony Size ◽  
Distance Effect ◽  
Early Mortality ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
White Nose Syndrome ◽  
Related Mortality ◽  
Colony Level

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease responsible for unprecedented mortality in hibernating bats. First observed in a New York cave in 2006, mortality associated with WNS rapidly appeared in hibernacula across the northeastern United States. We used yearly presence–absence data on WNS-related mortality among hibernating bat colonies in the Northeast to determine factors influencing its spread. We evaluated hazard models to test hypotheses about the association between the timing of mortality and colony-level covariates, such as distance from the first WNS-affected site, colony size, species diversity, species composition and type of hibernaculum (cave or mine). Distance to origin and colony size had the greatest effects on WNS hazard over the range of observations; the type of hibernaculum and species composition had weaker effects. The distance effect showed a temporal decrease in magnitude, consistent with the pattern of an expanding epizootic. Large, cave-dwelling bat colonies with high proportions of Myotis lucifugus or other species that seek humid microclimates tended to experience early mortality. Our results suggest that the timing of mortality from WNS is largely dependent on colony location, and large colonies tend to be first in an area to experience high mortality associated with WNS.

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