Environment, host, and fungal traits predict continental-scale white-nose syndrome in bats
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease killing bats in eastern North America, but disease is not seen in European bats and is less severe in some North American species. We show that how bats use energy during hibernation and fungal growth rates under different environmental conditions can explain how some bats are able to survive winter with infection and others are not. Our study shows how simple but nonlinear interactions between fungal growth and bat energetics result in decreased survival times at more humid hibernation sites; however, differences between species such as body size and metabolic rates determine the impact of fungal infection on bat survival, allowing European bat species to survive, whereas North American species can experience dramatic decline.
Source: Science Advances
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
OpenAlex ID: W2253391963