Success in Saving Bats From White-Nose Syndrome

This little guy was released after being successfully treated for White-Nose Syndrome. It's a great day for conservation!

10 years ago, a fungus was introduced in the United States that quickly decimated populations of bats in American and Canada.

The culprit? Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), which causes White-Nose Syndrome in bats.

But now, for the first time, scientists have successfully treated bats infected with White-Nose Syndrome.

On May 19, 2015, scientists and conservationists gathered outside the historic Mark Twain Cave Complex in Hannibal, Missouri, to release back into the wild some of the first bats successfully treated for deadly White-Nose Syndrome.

The 75 bats released in May were part of the first field trials of a novel way to protect bats from this syndrome.

WHAT WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME DOES TO BATS

Pd invades the nose, mouth and wings of bats during hibernation, when bats’ immune systems are largely shut down. Research indicates that the fungus may lead to dehydration, causing them to wake more frequently and burn precious fat reserves. This leads to starvation. Science has yet to develop an effective, ecologically appropriate means of combatting the fungus, which may kill up to 100 percent of bats in an infected cave.
SCIENCE BRINGS HOPE

In 2012, Dr. Chris Cornelison and several colleagues at Georgia State University found that a common North America bacterium had the ability to inhibit the growth of some fungi.

This innovative treatment’s development began not with bats, but with bananas.

That’s right: the bananas on your supermarket shelf play a surprising supporting role in bat conservation.

Dr. Cornelison, U.S. Forest Service wildlife bat specialist Dr. Sybill Amelon and research plant pathologist Dr. Daniel Lindner have been conducting laboratory research on the application of this bacterium since 2012, and in 2014-2015 conducted field trials in Missouri and Kentucky caves. Funding for this research was provided in part by Bat Conservation International, the U.S. Forest Service and the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
UPDATE

In the winter of 2015-2016 Cornelison and Amelon had hoped to conduct field trials with the bacteria treatment using the Conservancy's artificial cave near Clarksville, Tennessee. However, they were not able to collect enough bats to do the experimental treatments.

So far the results from the 2014-2015 field trials are the most promising sign yet that White-Nose Syndrome can be fought and that America's bats can be saved. Cornelison and Amelon are looking for other ways to test their experimental bacterial treatment and eventually move toward cost-effective, large-scale treatments.

Read a Tennessee Chapter newsletter story about the research and learn more about how we're working to save nature for us all.

Our funding for projects like these comes, in large part, from people like you. Thank you for helping us make a difference for the natural world!