WCTWS Membership Committee Brown Bag Webinar

Wisconsin's Bats: Status and WNS Vaccine Development

Featuring:

"Status of Bat Populations in Wisconsin"
presented by
Paul White, Mammal Ecologist, Natural Heritage Conservation Bureau, WDNR

The WDNR is tasked with identifying, protecting, monitoring, and managing populations of native bat species. This presentation will highlight the bat species in Wisconsin and describe the population monitoring methods the Department uses to assess statewide bat populations along with the results from that work.

and
"Development of Vaccines and Delivery Methods  to Manage WNS is Wisconsin Bat Populations" presented by:
Ariel E. Leon, Biologist at USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Since its discovery in the US in 2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has killed an estimated 7 million bats, causing significant population declines in numerous bat species, including the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). This emerging disease has significant ecologic and economic impacts because bats provide key ecological services, valued between 4-50 billion dollars per year, to US agriculture (Boyles, et al.2011). The fungus, which only affects bats during hibernation, is spreading across North America at an alarming rate. Because of its impact and rapid spread, developing methods to control WNS is of highest priority for bat conservation. Researchers at the WDNR, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and University of Wisconsin, Madison have been working to develop and test vaccines to protect bats from WNS.