Body temperature and body mass of hibernating little brown bats Myotis lucifugus in hibernacula affected by white-nose syndrome

Abstract

Populations of hibernating bats in the northeastern United States are being decimated by Whitenose Syndrome (WNS). Although the ultimate cause of death is unknown, it may be related to the premature depletion of fat reserves. Previous research has suggested the cause of starvation is the namesake white fungus of WNS, Geomyces destructans Blehert and Gargas, 2009. During hibernation, the immune system is suppressed; however, it is possible that some immune function may be maintained by retaining an elevated body temperature (T b ) during hibernation.Although an elevated T b may facilitate an immune response, it also accelerates the depletion of fat stores. We sought to determine if little brown bats Myotis lucifugus Le Conte, 1831 hibernating in WNS-affected hibernacula have an elevated T b and reduced fat stores, relative to bats not affected by WNS. We found that WNS-affected M. lucifugus maintain a slightly, but significantly, higher skin temperature (T skin ), relative to surrounding rock temperature, than do WNS-unaffected Indiana bats M. sodalis Miller and Allen 1928 from Indiana. However, the difference in T skin is very small and we argue that it is unlikely to explain the premature starvation seen in WNS-affected bats. We also report that WNS-affected M. lucifugus weigh significantly less than M. lucifugus from a hibernaculum outside of the WNS region.

Environmental conditions associated with bat white‐nose syndrome mortality in the north‐eastern United States

“…2011; Meteyer et al. 2011; Storm & Boyles 2011). Therefore, environmental conditions both inside and outside hibernacula are likely to influence winter survival.…”

Space-Time Models for a Panzootic in Bats, With a Focus on the Endangered Indiana Bat

“…Severe wing damage associated with fungal invasion may be seen in bats that have recently emerged from hibernation (Meteyer et al, 2009;Cryan et al, 2010). The fungal infection appears to cause increased frequency of arousal (Warnecke et al, 2012), which, in turn, is associated with premature depletion of fat reserves and subsequent death of hibernating bats (Boyles and Willis, 2010;Storm and Boyles, 2011). Others hypothesize dehydration contributes to mortality (Cryan et al, 2010;Willis et al, 2011).…”

Seasonal effects on thermoregulatory abilities of the Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…Since then there have been a plethora of laboratory and field studies on thermoregulatory ability of a range of bat families from temperate, subtropical and tropical regions (Herreid and Schmidt-Nielsen, 1966;Licht and Leitner, 1967;McNab, 1969;Lyman, 1970;Wilson, 1970, 1979;Holyoak and Stones, 1971;Studier and O'Farrell, 1972;Kurta andKunz, 1988, Audet andFenton, 1988;Genoud et al, 1990;Genoud, 1993;Rodríguez-Durá n, 1995;Webb et al, 1995;Withers, 1997, 1999;Choi et al, 1998;Ochoa-Acuñ a and Kunz, 1999;Cryan and Wolf, 2003;Turbill et al, 2003;Geiser, 2004;Willis et al, 2005;Marom et al, 2006;Solick and Barclay, 2007;Wojciechowski et al, 2007;Stawski, 2010;Stawski and Geiser, 2010;Storm and Boyles, 2011). Most of these studies documented changes in bats' T b .…”