title: Host, pathogen, and environmental characteristics predict white-nose syndrome mortality in captive little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus).
abstract: An estimated 5.7 million or more bats died in North America between 2006 and 2012 due to infection with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) during hibernation. The behavioral and physiological changes associated with hibernation leave bats vulnerable to WNS, but the persistence of bats within the contaminated regions of North America suggests that survival might vary predictably among individuals or in relation to environmental conditions. To investigate variables influencing WNS mortality, we conducted a captive study of 147 little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) inoculated with 0, 500, 5000, 50,000, or 500,000 Pd conidia and hibernated for five months at either 4 or 10°C. We found that female bats were significantly more likely to survive hibernation, as were bats hibernated at 4°C, and bats with greater body condition at the start of hibernation. Although all bats inoculated with Pd exhibited shorter torpor bouts compared to controls, a characteristic of WNS, only bats inoculated with 500 conidia had significantly lower survival odds compared to controls. These data show that host and environmental characteristics are significant predictors of WNS mortality, and that exposure to up to 500 conidia is sufficient to cause a fatal infection. These results also illustrate a need to quantify dynamics of Pd exposure in free-ranging bats, as dynamics of WNS produced in captive studies inoculating bats with several hundred thousand conidia may differ from those in the wild.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: DeeAnn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Reeder
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McMichael
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Melissa B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Meierhofer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Daniel W F
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shayne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lumadue
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Sigler
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Harrison D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Winters
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Vodzak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States of America.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurta
authors.affiliation: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Springfield, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kath
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Field
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006605:Hibernation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008297:Male; D009181:Mycoses / Q000401:mortality*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal