Experimental inoculation trial to determine the effects of temperature and humidity on White-nose Syndrome in hibernating bats.

ABSTRACT: Disease results from interactions among the host, pathogen, and environment. Inoculation trials can quantify interactions among these players and explain aspects of disease ecology to inform management in variable and dynamic natural environments. White-nose Syndrome, a disease caused by the fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has caused severe population declines of several bat species in North America. We conducted the first experimental infection trial on the tri-colored bat, Perimyotis subflavus, to test the effect of temperature and humidity on disease severity. We also tested the effects of temperature and humidity on fungal growth and persistence on substrates. Unexpectedly, only 37% (35/95) of bats experimentally inoculated with Pd at the start of the experiment sho

SUBMITTER: Frick WF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8770465 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature