Download or read book Relationships of Three Species of Bats Impacted by White nose Syndrome to Forest Condition and Management written by Alexander Silvis and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Why We Should Care about Bats written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book White nose Syndrome written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Beneficial Forest Management Practices for WNS affected Bats written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this document is to provide practicable Beneficial Forest Management Practices (BFMPs) that land managers and woodland owners can use to increase benefits to bats as part of their forest management activities while avoiding and reducing potential negative effects. This technical guidance was developed in collaboration with professional foresters and wildlife biologists representing state and federal agencies, academic institutions, private conservation organizations, and other interested groups and individuals in response to catastrophic population declines of many bat species due to white-nose syndrome (WNS). Although this guidance is largely focused on cave-hibernating bat species or “cave bats” impacted by WNS in the eastern United States (east of the Great Plains), general recommendations provided herein are likely to benefit other forest-dependent bat species (i.e., “tree bats”), regardless of their conservation status.
Download or read book Long Term Impacts of an Emerging Disease White Nose Syndrome written by Tina L. Cheng and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging infectious diseases can place severe pressures on wildlife populations, leading to major population declines, local extirpation, and species extinctions. However, variability in disease impacts, existing among species and across a spatial and temporal scale, can help us identify species or populations persisting with disease either via resistance, tolerance, pathogen evasion, or by existing within environmental refugia. Understanding mechanisms leading to host persistence can inform conservation management priorities and strategies. White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is a recently emerged disease caused by the fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), that has led to severe declines in hibernating bat populations in North America. This work examines patterns and mechanisms associated with variability in WNS impacts with implications for the conservation of affected species. My first chapter investigates spatial heterogeneity in initial impacts of Pd spread across half of continental North America. We found that WNS-related impacts were lessened in the southwestern regions of North America, suggesting potential spatial refugia from WNS-related impacts but only for Perimyotis subflavus. We found that annual air surface temperatures driving Pd growth explained, in part, this spatial variation in WNS-related impacts. Despite evidence for lessened WNS-related declines in the southwest, impacts to bat populations are severe throughout North America for most bat species. My second chapter examines colonies of M. lucifugus that have experienced variability in declines over time, persisting potentially due to host-specific responses. Specifically, I investigate if differences in early winter fat reserves could explain survivorship and persistence of M. lucifugus colonies with WNS. We found that bats persisting with WNS in 2016 were significantly fatter than bats colonies sampled during WNS arrival in 2008 and 2009 at four out of our six sampled sites. At another two sites, we found that bats were either fatter in 2008 and 2009 compared to 2016. We used hibernation energetic models to estimate the amount of fat afforded to survival and found that increased fat reserves from bats measured in 2016 could reduce mortality by 65%. These data suggest that increased fat reserves can explain, in part, the persistence of M. lucifugus colonies with WNS. Lastly, my third chapter experimentally investigates one possible cause of variability in WNS impacts, variation host susceptibility via protective bacteria in the skin microbiome. In this chapter, I explore the efficacy of using a probiotic bacterium, harvested from the skin of a species experiencing lessened WNS impacts, Eptesicus fuscus , as a conservation tool applied to a more highly affected bat species, M. lucifugus. We found relative increases in survival for probiotic-treated groups compared to our sham control group. We also found evidence for decreased fungal infection and severity in probiotic-treated groups. Our results suggest that probiotic treatment can reduce incidence of White-nose Syndrome in M. lucifugus although timing of treatment is an important factor. Together, this work finds that variability in spatial, species-specific, and temporal impacts from WNS can inform conservation efforts. Namely, this work suggests that bat conservation should involve a multi-pronged approach that protects colonies where bats are persisting with WNS via habitat restoration, and potentially treating bats for threatened populations not persisting with WNS. Given the continued threat of WNS to bats as it spreads throughout North America, using a variety of tools to combat this disease may be critical to prevent disease-induced extinction and the local extirpation of affected bat species.
Download or read book Mammals of the Great Lakes Region 3rd Ed written by Allen Kurta and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in an extensively revised 3rd edition, Mammals of the Great Lakes Region has been an essential reference for countless amateur and professional naturalists since 1957. Easily tucked into a backpack and carried into the field, this heavily illustrated guidebook offers detailed information on 83 species, including each mammal’s appearance, behavior, and natural history, along with an explanation of its scientific name. Species accounts are accompanied by new color photographs plus fully updated distribution maps showing the geographic range in the Great Lakes region and in North America. A thorough introduction outlines the environmental factors that affect the distribution and abundance of mammals in Great Lakes ecosystems and discusses the impacts of current human activities, including introduction of diseases and climate change. There is also a section on preparing captured specimens for research or teaching, as well as user-friendly keys and quick reference tables to physical measurements and life history data. Brand new in this edition, the book also features detailed illustrations of the tracks of commonly found mammals to assist with year-round identification. Providing the most up-to-date information on mammals in the Great Lakes basin, this book belongs on the shelves of teachers, students, naturalists, and professional biologists throughout the region.
Download or read book Nightly and Yearly Bat Activity Before and After White nose Syndrome on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia written by Joshua B. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the central Appalachians, conservation concern about bat communities and their population status has become increasingly more significant with the advent and spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS). However, managers often are hampered in their response to WNS by the lack of information on pre-WNS local distribution, abundance, or activity patterns for most bat species. At the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), Tucker County, WV, where bat research has been conducted since the mid-1990s, we acoustically monitored bat activity a total of 20 nights each at four sites for 4 years - 3 years before and 1 year after WNS was detected - to better assess those local patterns. Within sampling nights, activity of northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) peaked directly after sunset and declined throughout the night, whereas activity of little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) had a unimodal distribution that peaked in the middle of the night. Activity of many bat species differed among sample sites and was highest at a small, artificial pond located on a dry ridgetop. Activity of little brown myotis, northern myotis, and Indiana myotis was lower post-WNS than pre-WNS, consistent with the species' precipitous declines previously reported in WNS-affected areas in the Northeast and upper portions of the Mid-Atlantic.
Download or read book Bats and Disease written by Riley Fehr Bernard and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation investigates regional differences in the behavior and activity of bats in eastern North America during the white-nose syndrome epizootic, specifically in the understudied region of the Southeastern United States. An introductory section provides a brief review of the history of whitenose syndrome, an emerging infectious disease in bats, and its introduction into North America. Chapter one provides the first documented evidence of bat activity outside of hibernacula throughout winter. The research presented in chapter two attempts to explain the variation in load and prevalence of P. destructans among species, sites and between years. Finally, chapter three examines the differences in the species affected by white-nose syndrome in the Southeast, as well as the regional variation in the timing and severity of decline in bat communities during summer. A conclusion section at the end of this dissertation summarizes the main findings and provides directions for future research.
Download or read book National Interagency Team Mobilizing to Tackle White nose Syndrome of Bats written by Rebecca G. Nisley and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Northern Research Station (NRS) scientists are helping unravel the mysteries of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease devastating bat populations in eastern North America. Bats are a vital component of many ecosystems, eating billions of insects, including mosquitos and crop pests. Many bat species could be facing extinction due to the rapid spread of this cold-loving fungus, Geomyces destructans, previously unknown to science. Several bat species at risk from WNS are federally designated endangered species, including the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), gray bat (Myotis grisescens), and Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus).
Download or read book Appalachia s Coal Mined Landscapes written by Carl E. Zipper and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-25 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book collects and summarizes current scientific knowledge concerning coal-mined landscapes of the Appalachian region in eastern United States. Containing contributions from authors across disciplines, the book addresses topics relevant to the region’s coal-mining history and its future; its human communities; and the soils, waters, plants, wildlife, and human-use potentials of Appalachia’s coal-mined landscapes. The book provides a comprehensive overview of coal mining’s legacy in Appalachia, USA. It book describes the resources of the Appalachian coalfield, its lands and waters, and its human communities – as they have been left in the aftermath of intensive mining, drawing upon peer-reviewed science and other regional data to provide clear and objective descriptions. By understanding the Appalachian experience, officials and planners in other resource extraction- affected world regions can gain knowledge and perspectives that will aid their own efforts to plan and manage for environmental quality and for human welfare. Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes: Resources and Communities in a New Energy Era will be of use to natural resource managers and scientists within Appalachia and in other world regions experiencing widespread mining, researchers with interest in the region’s disturbance legacy, and economic and community planners concerned with Appalachia’s future.
Download or read book White nose Syndrome in Bats written by Roger W. Perry and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: White-nose syndrome recently emerged as a disease affecting bats that hibernate in caves and abandoned mines during winter. This disease is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, and has caused the death of millions of bats in the Eastern United States and Canada. This fungus grows in relatively cold conditions with high humidity, which makes many caves, abandoned mines, and other underground structures optimal growing sites for the disease during winter. A number of treatments for combating white-nose syndrome have been tested, but practical and effective treatments for the disease--for individual bats and/ or their hibernacula--have not yet been found. At present, one of the primary management goals is to slow the spread of the disease while researchers work to find effective tools to combat it. Activities that monitor and slow the spread, reduce additional stresses on bat populations, and educate the public are some of the few tools currently available to managers to address white-nose syndrome.
Download or read book White nose Syndrome and Immune Responses in a Resistant Bat Species Eptesicus Fuscus written by Keslie Naffa and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: White-nose syndrome (WNS) has had a large negative impact on bat populations across eastern North America since its arrival in 2006. Bats affected by WNS appear to die of starvation, possibly due to the increased arousals during hibernation when there is no food present to replace the energy used to arouse. During hibernation, the bat’s immune system should be suppressed. However, once a bat of a susceptible species is exposed to the fungus that causes WNS, Psuedogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the immune system seems to respond, potentially causing an elevation in metabolic rate, which may cause the bat to arouse more often. I hypothesize that resistant bats do not mount an immune response; however, if they do mount an immune response, I hypothesize that bats inoculated with Pd and treated with an anti-inflammatory treatment will not respond to the infection, ultimately preserving fat reserves and lowering metabolic expenditures during hibernation. I tested these hypotheses by inoculating a species that does not suffer from high WNS mortality (big brown bats: Eptesicus fuscus), with Pd. Meloxicam was given to one of the three treatment groups in order to suppress the immune system. Metabolic rate during torpor, via oxygen consumption, was measured in addition to arousal/torpor bout patterns, the latter utilizing temperature-sensitive dataloggers. To quantify expression of four immune-function genes (NLRP10, CD200, ICAM5, and TNFRSF21), gene activity was measured via RT-qPCR on tissue and blood samples taken from each bat pre- and post-hibernation. These genes were chosen based on a prior study that showed differences in these genes between susceptible and resistant species. There were no significant differences found across treatment groups for gene expression, nor energetic data; however, hibernation did suppress NLRP10 expression, and blood samples consistently had higher gene expression than tissue samples, thus indicating these genes may be expressed at low levels in some tissues. It is imperative that we continue investigating the differences between susceptible and resistant bat species as WNS is advancing westward throughout the country.
Download or read book Bat Evolution Ecology and Conservation written by Rick A. Adams and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent advances in the study of bats have changed the way we understand this illusive group of mammals. This volume consist of 25 chapters and 57 authors from around the globe all writing on the most recent finding on the evolution, ecology and conservation of bats. The chapters in this book are not intended to be exhaustive literature reviews, but instead extended manuscripts that bring new and fresh perspectives. Many chapters consist of previously unpublished data and are repetitive of new insights and understanding in bat evolution, ecology and conservation. All chapters were peer-reviewed and revised by the authors. Many of the chapters are multi-authored to provide comprehensive and authoritative coverage of the topics.
Download or read book Bats in the Anthropocene Conservation of Bats in a Changing World written by Christian C. Voigt and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.
Download or read book Efficacy of Visual Surveys for White nose Syndrome at Bat Hibernacula written by Amanda Frances Janicki and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is an epizootic disease in hibernating bats caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Surveillance for P. destructans at bat hibernacula consists primarily of visual surveys of bats, collection of potentially infected bats, and submission of these bats for laboratory testing. Cryptic infections (bats that are infected but display no visual signs of fungus) could lead to the mischaracterization of the infection status of a site and the inadvertent spread of P. destructans. We determined the efficacy of visual detection of P. destructans by examining visual signs and molecular detection of P. destructans on 928 bats of six species at 27 sites during surveys conducted from January through March in 2012–2014 in the southeastern USA on the leading edge of the disease invasion. Cryptic infections were widespread with 77% of bats that tested positive by qPCR showing no visible signs of infection. The probability of exhibiting visual signs of infection increased with sampling date and pathogen load, the latter of which was substantially higher in three species (Myotis lucifugus, M. septentrionalis, and Perimyotis subflavus). In addition, M. lucifugus was more likely to show visual signs of infection than other species given the same pathogen load. Nearly all infections were cryptic in three species (Eptesicus fuscus, M. grisescens, and M. sodalis), which had much lower fungal loads. The presence of M. lucifugus or M. septentrionalis at a site increased the probability that P. destructans was visually detected on bats. Our results suggest that cryptic infections of P. destructans are common in all bat species, and visible infections rarely occur in some species. However, due to very high infection prevalence and loads in some species, we estimate that visual surveys examining at least 17 individuals of M. lucifugus and M. septentrionalis, or 29 individuals of P. subflavus are still effective to determine whether a site has bats infected with P. destructans. In addition, because the probability of visually detecting the fungus was higher later in winter, surveys should be done as close to the end of the hibernation period as possible.
Download or read book Intraspecific Drivers of Variation in Bat Responses to White nose Syndrome and Implications for Population Persistence and Management written by Marianne Gagnon and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife are among the greatest threats to biodiversity. Indeed, when pathogens are introduced into naïve host populations, they can impose novel selective pressures that may cause severe host declines or even extinction. However, disease impacts may vary both within and among host species. Thus, one of the key goals for management is to identify factors that drive variation in host susceptibility to infection, as they may improve our understanding of hosts' potential to develop disease resistance and/or tolerance and inform conservation strategies aimed at facilitating host persistence. For instance, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) - an invasive pathogenic fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats - is highly virulent, has killed millions of bats in North America, and continues to spread at an alarming rate. Yet, the continued persistence of bat colonies in contaminated areas despite initial mass mortality events suggests variation in survival among infected individuals. I thus aimed to better understand intraspecific drivers of variation in bat susceptibility to WNS and their implications for population persistence and management in affected areas. Specifically, my objectives were to: 1) evaluate the extent to which variation in hibernaculum microclimate temperature and humidity affects Pd infection severity and disease progression in affected bats during hibernation, 2) compare how bats from colonies that vary in duration of exposure to Pd and from different age classes behaviorally respond to the infection, and examine how these behavioral changes affect host fitness and 3) model the population dynamics of remnant bat populations to assess the likeliness of persistence and the potential effectiveness of management interventions in affected colonies. I addressed these objectives through field research, experimental infection studies, and demographic modeling of the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus). In my dissertation, I first provide causal evidence of environmentally-driven variation in pathogen growth and infection severity on bats in the field. Both warmer and more humid microclimates contribute to the severity of the infection by promoting the production of conidia, the erosion of wing tissues, and, therefore, the transmission potential and virulence of Pd. I then document potential mechanistic links between Pd-induced behavioral change and host fitness. Higher infection levels, independent of bats' past exposure to Pd or age class, may cause individuals to groom longer, prolong euthermic arousals, accelerate the depletion of fat reserves, and ultimately increase mortality risk. Finally, I predict that populations will face a high risk of extirpation in the next decade or two if no management action is taken, but that interventions such as environmental control of Pd and hibernaculum microclimate manipulation can prevent short-term population collapse in remnant bat populations. Together, these studies provide key, mechanistic insight into the pathology of WNS and the probability of persistence of affected bat colonies, while highlighting the importance of prioritizing winter habitat preservation and enhancement for the conservation of hibernating bats.
Download or read book Determining the Drivers of Species and Population Extinction in the Emerging Infectious Disease of Bats White nose Syndrome written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging infectious diseases pose a key threat to wildlife, and the number of disease emergence events is increasing. Despite the importance of disease in wildlife conservation, understanding the drivers of population and species extinction from disease has not been tested in an empirical framework. My research incorporates empirical and theoretical approaches to understand factors that influence pathogen transmission and disease impacts. Here, we focus on the emerging fungal disease of bats, white-nose syndrome, which has caused widespread declines in bat populations across Eastern North America. Our findings highlight the importance of social behavior, microclimate conditions, and seasonality in driving impacts from this disease. We find that while seasonal transmission is broadly similar across species, winter differences in pathogen growth drive variation in species impacts from disease. Species appear to have different transmission mechanism which influences the likelihood they will persist in the face of white-nose syndrome. We also identify a species, the Northern long-eared bat, which is likely to go extinct if rapid management action is not taken. These data provide critical information needed to manage wildlife disease epidemics, enabling management action prior to species extinction.
