The spread of the BAT pathogen pseudogymnoascus destructans into the western united states has confounded our expectations for how the disease white-nose syndrome should progress

This Project Grant award, funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the White-nose Syndrome National Response Implementation program (CFDA 15.684), will support research to understand the progression of white-nose syndrome, a devastating fungal disease affecting bat populations, in Western U.S. regions. The $162,499 award to Northern Arizona University will focus on surveillance of the causative fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans across four Western states (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California), with a focus on the Yuma myotis bat species. The research aims to assess variations in white-nose syndrome susceptibility among bat species and predict the disease's effects on Western bat populations to inform management actions. This project is part of the broader national effort to conserve and recover bat species impacted by white-nose syndrome.

Over a decade of white-nose syndrome research in eastern north america and the midwest had led US to believe that the disease should follow a consistent pattern from pseudogymnoascus destructans arrival to a site in year 0 (invasion stage) to high prevalence and mortality in susceptible BAT species in years 1 and 2 (epidemic stage). This is then followed by pseudogymnoascus destructans persistence and species specific impacts in subsequent years (epidemic stage). Yet western BAT populations appear to be following a different pattern where the fungus rarely builds to levels where IT can kill the bats. Why western BAT populations have been able to persist despite being infected with pseudogymnoascus destructans remains a mystery. IT could be due to differences in BAT hibernation behavior or environmental differences. Perhaps changes in pseudogymnoascus destructans or other factors also play a role. Our project will assess priority 1 which aims to understand pseudogymnoascus destructans invasion and white-nose syndrome progression as well as white-nose syndrome impacts in western regions of north america. We will focus on pseudogymnoascus destructans surveillance across four western states (new mexico, arizona, utah, california) in western myotis species myotis yumanensis in particular. Other species will include myotis thysanodes myotis volans myotis ciliolabrum myotis occultus myotis velifer and parastrellus hesperus. We will assess other western species as encountered such as corynorhinus townssendii and euderma maculatum among others. Results from our study should help US understand variations in white-nose syndrome susceptibility among species and predict the effects of white-nose syndrome in western BAT populations to inform management actions across the massive expanse of the west.