White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease responsible for unprecedented mortality in hibernating bats in the northeastern U.S. This previously unrecognized disease has spread very rapidly since its discovery in January 2007 and poses a considerable threat to hibernating bats throughout North America.
As WNS spreads, the challenges for understanding and managing the disease continue to increase. In June 2008, an effort to formalize a coordinated approach for addressing WNS was initiated among the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, and State wildlife management agencies. A national plan for assisting states, Federal agencies, and tribes in managing WNS in bats was developed. This plan provides a framework that outlines the actions necessary to coordinate Federal and State efforts and identifies actions in support of State, Federal, tribal, and partner WNS management efforts. Each of seven elements identified in the plan would be administered by a working group responsible for the coordination of activities within that element.
The purpose of one such working group, the Data and Technical Information Management working group, is to provide a mechanism for making WNS information accessible in a timely fashion to all entities involved with the investigation and management of WNS. The primary activities of this working group are to disseminate information about WNS by providing access to common scientific and technical information in a partner-based data system; work with States to create data standards that will allow inter-operability with existing WNS data sets; provide researchers and wildlife managers with real-time access to WNS data and other critical information; and ultimately, integrate WNS data from State and Federal agencies and others into a more structured national database, thereby allowing analysis to be conducted on a continental basis.
Below are publications associated with this project.
A plan for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)
Estimating sample size for landscape-scale mark-recapture studies of North American migratory tree bats
Wing pathology of white-nose syndrome in bats suggests life-threatening disruption of physiology
Economic importance of bats in agriculture
White-nose syndrome in bats: a primer for resource managers
Response to: Concerns about extrapolating right off the bat [Letter]
Bat white-nose syndrome in North America
- Overview
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease responsible for unprecedented mortality in hibernating bats in the northeastern U.S. This previously unrecognized disease has spread very rapidly since its discovery in January 2007 and poses a considerable threat to hibernating bats throughout North America.
As WNS spreads, the challenges for understanding and managing the disease continue to increase. In June 2008, an effort to formalize a coordinated approach for addressing WNS was initiated among the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, and State wildlife management agencies. A national plan for assisting states, Federal agencies, and tribes in managing WNS in bats was developed. This plan provides a framework that outlines the actions necessary to coordinate Federal and State efforts and identifies actions in support of State, Federal, tribal, and partner WNS management efforts. Each of seven elements identified in the plan would be administered by a working group responsible for the coordination of activities within that element.
Bats showing signs of infections with Geomyces destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Public domain. The purpose of one such working group, the Data and Technical Information Management working group, is to provide a mechanism for making WNS information accessible in a timely fashion to all entities involved with the investigation and management of WNS. The primary activities of this working group are to disseminate information about WNS by providing access to common scientific and technical information in a partner-based data system; work with States to create data standards that will allow inter-operability with existing WNS data sets; provide researchers and wildlife managers with real-time access to WNS data and other critical information; and ultimately, integrate WNS data from State and Federal agencies and others into a more structured national database, thereby allowing analysis to be conducted on a continental basis.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
A plan for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)
The purpose of the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) is to create a continent-wide program to monitor bats at local to rangewide scales that will provide reliable data to promote effective conservation decisionmaking and the long-term viability of bat populations across the continent. This is an international, multiagency program. Four approaches will be used to gather monitoring dataAuthorsSusan C. Loeb, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Laura E. Ellison, Cori L. Lausen, Jonathan D. Reichard, Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas E. Ingersoll, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Wayne E. Thogmartin, John R. Sauer, Charles M. Francis, Mylea L. Bayless, Thomas R. Stanley, Douglas H. JohnsonEstimating sample size for landscape-scale mark-recapture studies of North American migratory tree bats
Concern for migratory tree-roosting bats in North America has grown because of possible population declines from wind energy development. This concern has driven interest in estimating population-level changes. Mark-recapture methodology is one possible analytical framework for assessing bat population changes, but sample size requirements to produce reliable estimates have not been estimated. ToAuthorsLaura E. Ellison, Paul M. LukacsWing pathology of white-nose syndrome in bats suggests life-threatening disruption of physiology
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is causing unprecedented declines in several species of North American bats. The characteristic lesions of WNS are caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans, which erodes and replaces the living skin of bats while they hibernate. It is unknown how this infection kills the bats. We review here the unique physiological importance of wings to hibernating bats in relation toAuthorsPaul M. Cryan, Carol U. Meteyer, Justin G. Boyles, David S. BlehertEconomic importance of bats in agriculture
White-nose syndrome (WNS) and the increased development of wind-power facilities are threatening populations of insectivorous bats in North America. Bats are voracious predators of nocturnal insects, including many crop and forest pests. We present here analyses suggesting that loss of bats in North America could lead to agricultural losses estimated at more than $3.7 billion/year. Urgent effortsAuthorsJustin G. Boyles, Paul M. Cryan, Gary F. McCracken, Thomas H. KunzWhite-nose syndrome in bats: a primer for resource managers
White-nose syndrome emerged as a devastating new disease of North American hibernating bats over the past four winters. The disease has spread more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi) since it was first observed in a small area of upstate New York, and has affected six species of bats in the caves and mines they rely on for winter survival. A newly discovered, cold-loving fungus (Geomyces destructansAuthorsK.T. Castle, P.M. CryanResponse to: Concerns about extrapolating right off the bat [Letter]
No abstract available.AuthorsJustin G. Boyles, Paul M. Cryan, Gary F. McCracken, Thomas H. KunzBat white-nose syndrome in North America
* The newly described fungus, Geomyces destructans, causes an invasive skin infection in bats and is the likely agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS). * With immune system functions and body temperatures reduced during hibernation, bats may be unusually susceptible to a pathogenic fungus such as G. destructans. * WNS was first observed in a popular show cave near Albany, New York, leading some investAuthorsDavid S. Blehert, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Anne E. Ballmann, Paul M. Cryan, Carol U. Meteyer