#BatAppreciationDay with the #Iowa Wildlife Center

A little flying Friend visits the studio

by Ethan Lo, April 17, 2023

"The Iowa Wildlife center has volunteers to help with there endeavors but when handling the bats, they must get vaccinated. Bringing awareness to bats, they recommend not to use sticky traps and to be cautions when handling bats. Ehresman brings a bat with her to showcase how small and how vulnerable they can be."
#Bats #WNS #WhiteNoseSyndrome #BatAppreciationDay

Source:
https://www.weareiowa.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/iowa-live/bat-appreciation-day-with-the-iowa-wildlife-center/524-22499140-9770-402f-b357-2c3e60b59e35

North American #bats at risk of severe population decline

By John Flesher, AP, Apr 17, 2023

"Among methods under development are vaccines, anti-fungal sprays and ultraviolet light treatments for hibernation spots.

"'We have a number of tools that are showing great promise,' Coleman [a wildlife biologist] said. 'There are very few precedents for managing a wildlife disease, particularly one so devastating and pervasive.'

"The report said the bats also are imperiled by #forest fragmentation — #logging and urban #sprawl in #Canada, #wildfire suppression in the U.S. and #livestock #ranching in #Mexico. Many bats live in older trees during summer.

"People sometimes disturb hibernating bats in winter by exploring caves and abandoned mines.

"#ClimateChange is expected to intensify the challenges, causing more extreme storms and temperature swings. The report said 82% of the continent’s species are at risk from global warming’s effects."

#Bats #WNS #WhiteNoseSyndrome #Spelunking #BatAppreciationDay

Read more:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/bats-population-20230417-hdjxgthow5ffldqqz2kb2ekiu4-story.html

How #Colorado residents can help protect state’s #bat populations from deadly fungus
Story by Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, April 17, 2023

"Wildlife groups and government agencies are trying to mobilize sharp-eyed humans for #ColoradoBatWatch, a campaign launched Monday to help biologists find bat roosting sites fast enough to save bats from proliferating perils, including the deadly white-nose fungus.

"The idea is to be able to vaccinate bats while they’re hanging about during the daytime as soon as possible.

"This emerging mission requires statewide public participation because bat roosts can be so hard to spot, overwhelming scientific capacities, according to the coordinators of the Bat Watch, among the first in the West as the fungus spreads.

"Training online at www.coloradobatwatch.org takes about 15 minutes for participants to identify bat roosting sites in buildings, caves, abandoned mine shafts, under talus on mountainsides, under bridges, in culverts. About 100 people have signed up as of Monday morning."
#Bats #WNS #WhiteNoseSyndrome #BatAppreciationDay

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-colorado-residents-can-help-protect-state-s-bat-populations-from-deadly-fungus/ar-AA19Yp2v

Rutland Herald Community News, Apr 4, 2023

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s reclassification of the northern long-eared bat from threatened to endangered status came into effect Friday, March 31.

"In #Vermont, the northern-long eared bat received a state endangered status in 2011 due to rapid and drastic declines caused by the deadly fungal disease white-nose syndrome. It received federal threatened status in 2015 after the disease had spread throughout the Northeast, but not the entire range of the species. Following white-nose syndrome’s expansion across the United States and Canada, the northern long-eared bat has experienced similarly dramatic population declines throughout most of its range. In Vermont, this once-common species of mature forest habitats has declined by 98% in the underground hibernation sites where it overwinters. The USFWS’ reclassification comes in response to this trend."

#Bats #WNS #WhiteNoseSyndrome #BatAppreciationDay

Source: https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/community/rutland-herald-community-news/article_8b6916cf-319c-5179-8f01-ea7643d5c5d5.html

B.C. ecologists brace for spread of fungal disease that has eradicated bat populations across North America

Province said it first detected fungus associated with white-nose syndrome on bats in Grand Forks, B.C.

CBC News · Posted: Apr 09, 2023

"White-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats across North America since first appearing in North America in New York State, probably through shipping. It's spread mostly bat-to-bat, although humans can play a role by carrying spores on their clothes or gear.

"In light of the risks around white-nose syndrome, the program has been asking British Columbians to report a dead or sick bat on its website or via email at info@bcbats.ca or call 1-855-922-2287.

"During the white-nose syndrome period from Nov. 1 to May 31, the program recommends people not touch a dead bat with bare hands but instead collect it by wrapping it with a paper towel and putting it into a zip lock bag,

"The program also recommends refrigerating or freezing the specimen if it takes more than 48 hours for a program co-ordinator to pick it up."
#BritishColumbia #Bats #WNS #WhiteNoseSyndrome #GrandForksBC #Spelunking #WorldBatAppreciationDay

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/white-nose-syndrome-report-dead-bats-1.6803227

6/ this method can be applied to other emerging infectious disease such as #WNS in bats 🦇 , snake fungal disease 🐍 , as well as infectious diseases in food sectors 🐟 🐮 🌾. Image from Hoyts et al 2021

Really cool paper that tests one of the fundamental assumptions about #WNS in #bats -- that more frequent arousals from #hibernation slow the growth of the fungal pathogen.

#OpenScience

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211986

Hello Fediverse #introduction

I am an immunologist studying the #immunology of #bats with a focus on #immune responses to #viruses and #fungi

I use #rnaseq #transcriptomics and #bioinformatics to study responses to #infection or #vaccination. Previous work has focused on white-nose syndrome #WNS. We are now focused on anti-viral responses such as #SARSCOV2 and #Ebola

Together with colleagues at #MUNI_University we are studying African fruit bats under natural conditions in #Uganda