White-Nose Syndrome in North American bats

Science conducted by the USGS and the White-nose Syndrome Response Team

Cayla Morningstar, M. Camille Hopkins , & Suzanna Soileau

May 24, 2024

What is White-Nose Syndrome?

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science has been critical in identifying the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS). The Pd fungus infects the skin covering the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats. The fungus erodes deep into the vitally important skin of bat wings and fatally disrupts the hibernation of bats through physical damage and energy depletion as they try to cope with infection. Our scientists are tracking the fungus as it spreads and characterizing the effects of WNS on hibernating bat populations in North America.

Read more about WNS here:

White-Nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease that affects hibernating bats and is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd for short...

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Why are bats important?

In North America, bats control agricultural pests and consume other harmful insects like mosquitoes. In many parts of the world, bats are important pollinators and disperse seeds.

Species We Study: Bats | U.S. Geological Survey

Bats make up one-fifth of all mammalian species worldwide and are found on every continent except Antarctica. They contribute to overall ecosystem health by suppressing pest insects and pollinating plants and spreading seeds. Eight North American bat species are listed as federally endangered or threatened, and more than one-half are of current conservation concern in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.

https://www.usgs.gov

13 Awesome Facts About Bats | U.S. Department of the Interior

They've been called creepy, scary and spooky, but bats are an important species that impact our daily lives in ways we might not even realize.

https://www.doi.gov

In North America, at least 12 bat species are impacted by WNS.

Read more about the current bat species affected by WNS here:

Bats Affected by WNS

White-nose syndrome (WNS) predominantly affects hibernating bats. More than half of the 47 bat species living in the United States and Canada rely on hibernation for winter survival.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

If you find dead, dying, or sick bats:

If you have direct contact with a bat, talk to a healthcare or public health professional
Do NOT touch the bat(s)
Contact your state wildlife agency and report the sighting
Photograph the animal, if possible and safe to do so

Read more:

Avoid risk of rabies from bats

Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals usually transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system; ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. Information is included on rabies basics; prevention; and more.

https://www.cdc.gov

What should I do if I find dead or dying bats, or if I observe bats with signs of White-nose Syndrome?

If you find a dead or dying bat: Contact your state wildlife agency, file an electronic report in those states that offer this service, e-mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in your area, or contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service field office to report your potential White-nose Syndrome (WNS) observations.

https://www.usgs.gov

USGS WNS Science

Discover USGS Science Centers and Cooperative Research Units (CRU) that are working on WNS projects across the United States. The map below shows the locations of the USGS Centers and CRUs on a WNS occurrence map maintained by the WNS Response Team .

Detection and Control

National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Madison, WI

Tracking & Modeling Detections

Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit (MACRU) Northborough, MA

Disease Decision Analysis and Research Group

Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) Turner Falls, MA

Surveying Bat Distributions in the Pacific NW

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Corvallis, OR

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Fort Collins, CO

Ecological Interactions in the Plains

Montana Cooperative Research Unit (MCRU) Missoula, MT

Bats and Stats

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Bozeman, MT

Pd Impacts to Bat Populations

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) La Crosse, WI

Ecology and Distribution

Virginia Cooperative Research Unit (VCRU) Blacksburg, VA

Ecology of Western Bats

Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) Dixon, CA

Point-of-Use Detection Tool

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) Gainesville, FL

Detection and Control

National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Madison, WI

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is the only national high-containment facility dedicated to wildlife disease research and surveillance. NWHC is a leader in WNS detection , prevention, and control in the United States. NWHC's mission is to advance wildlife health science for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment.

NWHC WNS Research

Tracking & Modeling Detections

Massachusetts Cooperative Research Unit (MACRU) Northborough, MA

The MACRU is constructing a hierarchical Bayesian model for pathogen detection for WNS. See the publication here .

Other WNS work at MACRU will include working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to gather data from partners in the Northeastern U.S. to better understand information in the NaBat database .

MACRU WNS Research

Disease Decision Analysis and Research Group

Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC) Turner Falls, MA

The Disease Decision Analysis and Research group (DDAR) is a multi-disciplinary team based out of the Eastern Ecological Science Center whose strengths are in ecology, decision sciences and quantitative modeling. Working with federal and state agencies, DDAR has facilitated an adaptive management approach to the WNS response.

EESC WNS Science

Surveying Bat Distributions in the Pacific NW

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Corvallis, OR

A study designed in close collaboration with the National Park Service will determine how bats are using the North Coast and Cascades Network of national parks and to help parks prepare for and respond to the spread of WNS in bats in the region. FRESC scientists have conducted acoustic bat surveys in Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks that are compatible with the North American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat , since 2019.

FRESC WNS Research

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Fort Collins, CO

The North American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat, provides information to a broad constituency garnered from a continental-scale, long-term program, and allows them to better document changes in bat populations, estimate extinction risk, set conservation priorities, and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation actions.

FORT WNS Research

Ecological Interactions in the Plains

Montana Cooperative Research Unit (MCRU) Missoula, MT

Because bats in our region forage on flying invertebrates, they are closely associated with water. Water is scarce in the Northern Plains. To help land managers make effective resource decisions and to better understand the role of beaver in prairie systems, we plan to measure the role of natural and artificial beaver ponds (e.g., beaver dam analogs) in insect production and local bat activity.

MCRU WNS Research

Bats and Stats

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Bozeman, MT

Statistical analysis are important for identifying gaps and weaknesses in current statistical approaches to analyzing bat acoustic data and developing tools for determining the required sampling effort to create robust acoustic datasets for bats. Recent work in 2024 has contributed “how-to” statistical analysis vignettes for biologists to analyze their own NABat acoustic datasets and understand responses related to White-nose Syndrome.

NOROCK WNS Research

Pd Impacts to Bat Populations

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) La Crosse, WI

The mechanisms behind vulnerability of species across the current and expanding range of Pd spread remain unclear. Quantifying spatial patterns of WNS impact and identifying environmental predictors of vulnerability of bat species to WNS will inform management response by recognizing geographic areas and species most at risk from WNS.

UMESC WNS Research

Ecology and Distribution

Virginia Cooperative Research Unit (VCRU) Blacksburg, VA

This project is a comprehensive investigation of the foraging and roosting ecology and distribution of bats in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast following White-nose Syndrome with emphasis on the threatened Northern long-eared bat and the endangered Indiana bat.

VCRU WNS Research

Ecology of Western Bats

Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) Dixon, CA

The primary goal of this bat research program is to develop projects that increase our understanding of basic ecology and natural history of western bat species, while simultaneously providing needed data to inform conservation measures and management decisions in the West.

WERC WNS Research

Point-of-Use Detection Tool

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) Gainesville, FL

The biologists at WARC are working on CRISPR genetics biosensors to detect Pd pathogens to inform WNS surveillance and management actions.

WARC WNS Research

WNS Collaborative Response

The USGS is working with partners to study WNS and its impacts on bat populations, exploring new treatment options and efficacy, and developing methods for screening and surveillance.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided funding for research on WNS treatments, including USGS's WNS vaccine.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Preventing and treating white-nose syndrome | Fighting a fungus to save bats in North America

https://www.fws.gov

^{Read more about the vaccine and other treatments below.}

Treatment map

Due to species and environmental variation, there is no blanket treatment for WNS. Instead, an integrated management approach using multiple treatments and management strategies is needed. Treatment for WNS is grouped into three categories, though not all are listed here; Environment, Bat, and Pd.

Triangle of treatment for *Pseudogymnoascus destructans* (Pd) in the United States. Treatment is broken into three categories; Environment, Bat, and *Pd.* Colors coordinate with the treatment map.

Click your state of interest to see the treatment strategies currently in use →

Treatment details:

Environment: Treatments that alter environmental conditions to reduce the risk of bats being exposed to Pd including cooling bat hibernacula
Pd: treating the fungus infecting bat populations through several options including
1. Antifungal: Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000; antifungal bacteria Rhodococcus rhodochrous; naturally-derived antifungal Chitosan
2. Antimicrobial: naturally-produced antimicrobial B23
3. Biological: Probiotic bacteria or fungi occurring naturally in bat populations
Bat: Treatments that promote bat resilience against Pd infections include
1. "Fat bat": ensuring the animals are well-fed to aid in the prevention of bat susceptibility to Pd
2. Vaccine: boosting the immune system of bats so they are more resistant to WNS

Read more about the vaccine here:

Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) - Scientific Reports

White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus.

https://www.nature.com

The WNS Response Team

In 2011, the WNS National Plan for understanding and managing WNS was implemented by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the following partners:

The WNS Response team was created under the guidance of the WNS National Plan, and is made of five working groups . The scope of each and links to more information are below:

Disease Management

The National White-Nose Syndrome Plan recognizes that actions are necessary to slow the spread of the disease and develop intervention strategies to treat and protect susceptible bat species, without harming natural areas in which they are found.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Conservation & Recovery

The National White-Nose Syndrome Plan was developed in response to the threat to posed by the spread of white-nose syndrome across North America. Understanding and managing populations of white-nose syndrome-susceptible bats and their habitats and helping with conservation and recovery of bat populations and habitats already affected by the disease are key to this plan.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Surveillance & Diagnostics

The National White-Nose Syndrome Plan recognizes that multiple partners have a critical role in white-nose syndrome surveillance, and that coordination of surveillance activities is essential for effectively responding to the disease and its effects to bat populations across the nation.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Data Management

The National WNS Plan recognizes that the management and scientific information is critical to States, Federal agencies, Tribes, and other groups involved in the investigation and management of the disease.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

Communications & Outreach

The Communications and Outreach Working Group plans and communicates a unified message from and among white-nose syndrome partners, responsible agencies and the public.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

The link below shows the map and list of projects developed, conducted, and funded by partners on the WNS National Response Team:

White-Nose Syndrome Response Team

Partner-funded projects supporting WNS research and bat conservation projects

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

USGS Stakeholder Coordination and Engagement

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

Established by USGS, USFWS, and other partners, NABat is the first ever continental-scale effort to collect standardized information on North America’s bats. Collaborators are using this information to understand where bats occur on the landscape, how populations are changing through time, and how different bat populations are responding to white-nose syndrome (WNS), wind energy, and the actions that are undertaken to minimize the impacts of these potential threats

_{Interact with NABat content in this sidecar, or press the arrow in the right hand corner to open the content in your browser →}

Participatory Science: Co-organizing a Bat Workshop with Native Americans

This workshop aims to communicate interagency science to foster collaboration and utilization of resources.

USGS researchers and collaborators successfully host the first Pacific Northwest Native American Workshop on Bats | U.S. Geological Survey

Dr. Ernest Valdez of USGS-FORT, New Mexico Landscapes Field Station along with USGS-Northwest Pacific Islands Region, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, and Oregon State University were successful in co-organizing the first Pacific Northwest Native American Workshop on Bats.

https://www.usgs.gov

A Collaborative Analysis of WNS Impacts on Bats

In order to support USFWS Species Status Assessments and Endangered Species Act (ESA) rulemaking, USGS and several partners, including Bat Conservation International, collaborated for a large-scale study ( Cheng et al. 2021 ) that assessed the impact of WNS on North American bats.

_{To learn more about the impacts of WNS on North American bats, interact with WNS Impacts app content in this sidecar, or press the arrow in the right hand corner to open the content in your browser →}

Resources & Publications

White-Nose Syndrome Response Team

We are biologists, researchers, land managers, communicators and naturalists across North America united in our enthusiasm for bats and the fight against white-nose syndrome (WNS). We hail from more than 100 federal, state, provincial and territorial agencies; tribes; universities; and non-governmental groups. Our goal is to conserve and strengthen healthy bat populations in the face of the disease.

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org

U.S. Geological Survey response to white-nose syndrome in bats

Since its discovery in 2007, the fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed more than six million bats. Ten of 47 bat species have been affected by WNS across 32 States and 5 Canadian Provinces. The cold-growing fungus (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that causes WNS infects skin covering the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov

Additional Recent USGS & Partner publications

A minimally invasive, field-applicable CRISPR/Cas biosensor to aid in the detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative fungal agent of white-nose syndrome in bats

The accessibility to CRISPR/Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein) genetic tools has given rise to applications beyond site-directed genome editing for the detection of DNA and RNA. These tools include precise diagnostic detection of human disease pathogens, such as SARSCoV-2 and Zika virus.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Inferring pathogen presence when sample misclassification and partial observation occur

Surveillance programmes are essential for detecting emerging pathogens and often rely on molecular methods to make inference about the presence of a target disease agent. However, molecular methods rarely detect target DNA perfectly. For example, molecular pathogen detection methods can result in misclassification (i.e. false positives and false negatives) or partial detection errors (i.e.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov

Sex-biased infections scale to population impacts for an emerging wildlife disease

Demographic factors are fundamental in shaping infectious disease dynamics. Aspects of populations that create structure, like age and sex, can affect patterns of transmission, infection intensity and population outcomes. However, studies rarely link these processes from individual to population-scale effects. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying demographic differences in disease are frequently unclear.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov

Environmental transmission of Pseudogymnoascus destructans to hibernating little brown bats

Pathogens with persistent environmental stages can have devastating effects on wildlife communities. White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has caused widespread declines in bat populations of North America. In 2009, during the early stages of the WNS investigation and before molecular techniques had been developed to readily detect P.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov

Long-term survival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans at elevated temperatures

White-nose syndrome is an emerging fungal disease that has devastated hibernating bat populations across eastern North America. The causal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (PD), is a psychrophilic fungus with a known maximal growth temperature of 20 C.

https://pubs.er.usgs.gov

NABat Software releases

Code release for fitting occupancy models with design weights

Online supporting information for "Occupancy modeling species-environment relationships with non-ignorable sampling designs", U.S. Geological Survey software release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55MPV.

https://code.usgs.gov

R package to conduct simulation based power analysis with dynamic occupancy models

Statistical power of dynamic occupancy models to identify temporal change: informing the North American Bat Monitoring Program

https://code.usgs.gov

Application of Spatially Misaligned Regression Model to Assess Impacts of White-Nose Syndrome

Official Source Code Archive

https://code.usgs.gov

https://code.usgs.gov/usgs/norock/irvine_k/vignette-bayesian-site-occupancy-model-bat-acoustic-data

Official Source Code Archive

https://code.usgs.gov