Disease Status, Occupancy, and Relative Activity of Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) in the Northeastern United States

White-nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has caused catastrophic declines in several North American bat species, including >90% losses in Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus). Because small, remnant populations persist across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, there are key questions about their continued vulnerability to WNS or other pathogens, habitat associations in a post-WNS landscape, and the extent to which population stabilization or recovery may already be underway. This dissertation integrates disease surveillance, long-term acoustic monitoring and Bayesian occupancy and activity modeling to evaluate population trajectories and ecological drivers influencing Little Brown Bat persistence across multiple spatial scales. Chapter 1 of this dissertation explores the potential introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into Little Brown Bat populations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. We analyzed saliva samples from 235 individual little brown bats from a total of eight maternity colonies. No bat tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR, indicating the virus was either not present or that it persists in undetectable levels in little brown bat populations in this region. The second chapter of this dissertation explores the trends of WNS affected bat species in the mid-Atlantic, including Little Brown Bats, Northern Long-eared Bats (Myotis septentrionalis), and Tricolored Bats (Perimyotis subflavus), using relative activity models using acoustic data collected from the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park in Maryland along the Potomac River Corridor. Little Brown Bats and Tricolored Bats showed increasing activity over time and strong positive associations with proximity to water, and wetlands, consistent with pre-WNS habitat use and may suggest early regional stabilization. Northern Long-eared Bats, however, remained rare with no clear habitat associations, mirroring severe ongoing declines across their range. The third chapter of this dissertation explores patterns of Little Brown Bat occupancy and relative activity throughout New England. Occupancy models indicated largely stable site use with weak positive relationships with year and wetland cover. In contrast, relative activity displayed stronger and more informative patterns, including significant increases over time and positive associations with forest cover, and wetland area, providing greater insight into patterns missed by occupancy alone.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Fisheries and Wildlife Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Moran, Megan Louise

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Ford, William Mark

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Hunter, Elizabeth Ann
• Bertke, Andrea S.
• Holliday, Jason A.

• Acoustics
• Covid-19
• Disease
• Little Brown Bat
• Myotis lucifugus
• Occupancy
• Relative Activity
• White-nose Syndrome

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:45472

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140840