A fungus that is destroying bat populations in eastern North America has made its first appearance on the Canadian prairies.
Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society report that they have found the fungus that causes white nose syndrome in eastern Saskatchewan, despite hopes that the western prairies will constitute a barrier.
“We found the fungus,” said Cory Olson, who discovered it while researching how bats use structures in grasslands, such as bridges.
“It is easily found in the millions of bats in North America that have already died from this fungus.”
White nose syndrome is caused by the growth of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans on the bodies of hibernating bats. Bats can fight fungus during the summer. But when they hibernate in winter, their immune systems slow down.
The fungus eats the skin on their wings, causing the bats to become dehydrated and wake up to drink. When they do, they burn energy. If they wake up too many times, their fat stores don’t help them get through the winter and they starve to death.
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Bats tend to hibernate in large groups. If the group becomes infected, the fungus destructans can kill it, said Jordi Segers, coordinator of the white nose syndrome program at the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative.
“In the lucky scenarios, 85 percent of the bats disappeared. There is a very, very high mortality.”
White nose syndrome was first identified in North America in 2006. It is now found throughout the eastern United States and Canada, as well as western states such as Washington.
“It has been stretched a few hundred miles each year,” Olson said.
Scientists hoped that the geology of the prairie, which has few caves where bats congregate in large numbers, could be a barrier. They still hope that the lonelier hibernation of western bats will slow down the progress of the syndrome.
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“The West is potentially different from the East,” Segers said. “It could slow down the spread.”
Although the fungus is now present in Saskatchewan, no bats have yet been diagnosed with the disease.
That’s because it takes a season of hibernation for symptoms of the syndrome to appear. Also, little is known about where and how prairie bats hibernate, making it difficult to find animals that do not survive.
All three species of bats native to the prairies are already considered endangered. The threat of white nose syndrome adds to the challenges they already face due to deforestation and drainage of wetlands that feed the insects in which bats live.
“We know that climate change is already having a huge effect on bats,” Segers said.
Bats play an important role in local ecosystems, he said.
They are also important to humans. Bats eat large numbers of insects that would otherwise damage crops.
American studies have suggested that bats save American farmers billions of dollars a year in crop losses.
A Saskatchewan government zoologist said the province knows the fungus has been found.
“The Ministry of the Environment is working closely with local researchers and other agencies to ensure that professionals follow proper protocols when handling bats,” said Erin Swerdfeger.
“(He’s) forming a provincial working group to address a lot of the questions about our bat populations.”
Segers and Olson note that some bats survive white nose syndrome. Finding out why it might provide a clue to fighting the disease. One possibility is a probiotic “cocktail” that could help bats fight the fungus, Olson said.
Very little is known about bats in Canada, Segers added. More research will be needed to track the progress of the disease and how it can be fought.
“Through research, we are trying to find out how these bats survive and what we can do to help.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on September 14, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com