Environmental Parameters, Arousal Patterns, and Wing Damage in a Population of Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) Unaffected by White-nose Syndrome
Brooke A. Daly1, Rodney W. Foster1, Allen Kurta1,*, DeeAnn M. Reeder2, Ashley K. Wilson1, Robin M. Kurta3, Craig D. Rockey4, Jacqueline M. Rockey5, Brenna L. Long6, Giorgia G. Auteri7,8, Jason D. Collins9, J. Paul White10, Heather M. Kaarakka10, and Jennifer A. Redell10
1Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. 2Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837. 3Beatty Early Learning Center, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. 4UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 4401 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. 5Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., 700 Cherrington Parkway, Moon Township, PA 15108. 6Consumers Energy Corporation, Jackson, MI 49201. 7Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65897. 8Bat Conservation International, Austin, TX 78746. 9Invenergy LLC, Grafton, NH 03240. 10Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI 53703. *Corresponding author.
Journal of North American Bat Research, Volume 4 (2026):1–15
Abstract
The population of Myotis lucifugus (Little Brown Bats) hibernating in the spillway at Tippy Dam in Michigan did not decline after detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent of white-nose syndrome. In winter 2019–2020, 5 years after the fungus arrived, we evaluated aspects of the environment, pathogen virulence, and host susceptibility. High internal temperatures in autumn (10–15°C) and spring (7–11°C) should have favored rapid growth of the fungus, but this did not occur. Median percent of wing area that fluoresced under ultraviolet light (a measure of disease severity) was only 0.01–0.04%. Although infection with Pd typically leads to frequent arousals from torpor, mean torpor bout length in the dam (16.8 days), which was determined with temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters, was similar to published values for uninfected animals. Our observations, combined with previous reports, suggest that some aspect of the environment intrinsic to the dam is inhibiting the fungus, and we propose testable hypotheses concerning summer temperatures and low-frequency sound/vibrations.
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Journal of North American Bat Research is valued by the academic, agency, NGO, and private-sector research community as a respected and trusted source for science related to all aspects of the biology, ecology, and conservation of bats, Order Chiroptera, and their habitats in North America, from Canada to Panama, and the West Indies (Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Lesser Antilles). Manuscripts based on studies outside this region that provide information on species within the region may be considered at the Editor’s discretion.