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Fungus, formerly known as Geomyces destructans is now known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd. (Minnis and Lindner 2013)
Europe (Leopardi et al. 2015)
First discovered in a cave near Albany, New York in Feb 2006. New York Department of Environmental Conservation biologists documented white-nose syndrome in Jan 2007. (Blehert et al. 2011)
Most likely introduced by human activity, possibly by a visitor to a show cave in New York. (Leopardi et al. 2015; Puechmaille et al. 2011)
Disease of bats causing a population decline of 72 to 88 percent of hibernating species in the northeastern U.S. (Lorch et al. 2012; Puechmaille et al. 2011)
Spotlights
USDA. FS. Southern Research Station. CompassLive.
White-nose syndrome has been spreading through U.S. bat populations since 2006 and has caused mass die-offs in various regions of the country. The syndrome is caused by Pd (Pseudogymnoascus destructans), a fungus that invades the skin of bats while they hibernate. USDA Forest Service wildlife biologists Roger Perry and Phillip Jordan conducted a study to calculate the survival rates of tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) in the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas. The research helps satisfy the need for robust estimates of population data amid the WNS outbreak. The scientists chose to study the tricolored bat because it is common across North America and has suffered substantial declines due to WNS. The research highlights the importance of maintaining and protecting small hibernation sites as they may be critical to the conservation of the tricolored bat species.
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that a team of six researchers from Oregon State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz are the winners of a national prize challenge to combat white-nose syndrome (WNS), a lethal wildlife disease that has killed millions of bats in North America and pushed some native bat species to the brink of extinction. The Service's White-nose Syndrome Program launched the challenge last October as part of a multi-faceted funding strategy to develop management tools to fight the disease. A total of 47 proposed solutions were submitted for permanently eradicating, weakening or disarming Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes WNS, thereby improving survival in bat species affected by the disease. A panel of 18 experts from academic institutions, federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations evaluated the challenge entries based on readiness, deployment scale, species susceptibility, ease of use, cost efficiency, efficacy and risk to resources.
In the coming months, the Service will announce a second challenge to offer an additional $80,000, as we continue to pursue novel, innovative solutions that could help us permanently eradicate, weaken, or disarm the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The Service plans to hold additional idea prize challenges in the future to invite solvers with a diverse array of knowledge, skills, expertise and perspectives to help the agency tackle today’s toughest conservation issues.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
For the first time, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists have confirmed the disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) in a Texas bat. Up until this point, while the fungus that causes the disease was previously detected in Texas in 2017, there were no signs of the disease it can cause. WNS has killed millions of hibernating bats in the eastern parts of the United States, raising national concern. WNS is a fungal disease only known to occur in bats and is not a risk to people. However, bats are wild animals and should not be handled by untrained individuals. The public is encouraged to report dead or sick bats to TPWD at nathan.fuller@tpwd.texas.gov for possible testing.
Distribution / Maps / Survey Status
Images
Videos
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Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for White-Nose Syndrome.
Council or Task Force
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Academic
Professional
National Speleological Society.
Bat Conservation International.
Citations
Blehert, D.S., J.M. Lorch, A.E. Ballmann, P.M. Cryan, and C.U. Meteyer. 2011. Bat white-nose syndrome in North America. Microbe 6(6):267-273.
Leopardi, S., D. Blake, and S.J. Puechmaille. 2015. White-Nose Syndrome fungus introduced from Europe to North America. Current Biology 25(6):R217-R219.
Lorch, J.M., L.K. Muller, R.E. Russell, M. O'Connor, D.L. Lindner, and D.S. Blehert. 2012. Distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern United States. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79(4):1293-1301.
Minnis, A.M. and D. L. Lindner. 2013. Phylogenetic evaluation of Geomyces and allies reveals no close relatives of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, comb. nov., in bat hibernacula of eastern North America. Fungal Biology 117(9):638–649.
Puechmaille, S.J., W.F. Frick, T.H. Kunz, P.A. Racey, C.C. Voigt, G. Wibbelt, and E.C. Teeling. 2011. White-nose syndrome: is this emerging disease a threat to European bats? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26(11):570-576.