Tag: White-nose syndrome

An Early Warning System for Bats in North America

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
This week the U.S. Forest Service is participating in the celebration of Bat Week, an international effort to bring attention to the role of bats in nature and the threats they face across the world. Bats play essential roles in the health of both the environment and the economy, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds – and…  More 

Susan Loeb Awarded Grant for Research Related to White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
On September 29, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced $2.5 million in grants for research, management, and communication projects related to white-nose syndrome, the fungal disease that’s killed millions of North American bats since 2007, when it was first documented. White-nose syndrome is caused by a cold-loving fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), that infects hibernating…  More 

U.S. Forest Service Publishes Plan for North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Just published online by the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), A Plan for the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) provides detailed guidelines for participating in NABat, an international multiagency program created to provide the data needed to make effective decisions about bat populations across the North American continent. Susan Loeb, SRS research ecologist,…  More 

International Bat Monitoring Research Group Receives “Wings Across the Americas” Award

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
On March 9th, U.S. Forest Service scientist Susan Loeb and numerous partners were recognized with the Forest Service Wings Across the Americas Research Award for their contributions to the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat). Wings Across the Americas is an international Forest Service program that works with a wide range of partners in the…  More 

Little Brown Bats of Alaska

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Bats do live in southcentral Alaska, that much is known. But the list of unknowns is longer.  Which species live there? What habitats do they prefer? Where do they roost? What are their foraging habits? A recent U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) study begins to fill the information void about Alaskan bats. SRS scientist Susan Loeb,…  More 

SRS Researchers Awarded Grants for Research on White Nose Syndrome

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) researchers and collaborators just received news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) funded two of their proposals on white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that affects hibernating bats. One grant funds research on bat survival, while the other helps set up a program to monitor bats nationwide.…  More 

Slowing the Spread of White Nose Syndrome in Bats

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Since 2006, a newly discovered fungal disease referred to as white-nose syndrome has killed millions of North American bats. U.S. Forest Service researchers, along with researchers from other Federal and state agencies and universities have been investigating the fungus and its devastating effects on bats since the disease was first noticed. Roger Perry, a research…  More 

Cave Climates and White-Nose Syndrome

by Nancy Koerth, SRS Southern Pine Ecology and Management unit  • 
  White-nose syndrome, caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans, has decimated bat populations throughout eastern North America. Recent estimates show that 6 to7 million bats have succumbed to white-nose syndrome. This fungus thrives in the cool, moist conditions found in many caves and mines where bats may also hibernate. Roger W. Perry, a research wildlife…  More