Understanding white-nose syndrome

Guest post by DeeAnn M. Reeder

Image of bats in WNS study wearing temperature sensitive dataloggers to track hibernation patterns (Greg Turner, Pennsylvania Game Commission).

Image of bats in WNS study wearing temperature sensitive dataloggers to track hibernation patterns (Greg Turner, Pennsylvania Game Commission).

White-nose syndrome (or WNS), an emerging infectious disease of hibernating bats, was first noted in New York during the winter of 2006/2007. Named for the visible white fungus that grows in the skin of the bats’ muzzles, ears, and wings, WNS causes a suite of symptoms, including flying during the day, flying during the middle of winter, and arousing from hibernation much too frequently, leading to starvation. One hypothesis for the frequent warm-ups is that the sick bats are dehydrated, as infection in their wing tissue may disrupt their normal physiological processes (this video shows a dehydrated bat, possibly suffering from WNS, eating snow: