Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at Tippy Dam in Michigan have shown resilience to white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This study evaluated the impact of environment (temperature and moisture), pathogen virulence, and host susceptibility on survival. Host response was assessed using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters (n = 37) and ultraviolet photography (n = 57), while fungal load (n = 56) was evaluated through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). High autumn temperatures (>10°C) favored growth of the fungus, while mid-hibernation temperature (3.2°C) was unfavorable. The mean torpor bout length (TBL) was similar to bats uninfected by WNS (16.8 days). Fungal loads were near the limit of detection (4.9 genome copies), and mean infection intensity (percent of wing area fluorescence) was low (0.02–0.14%) and much less when compared to severely affected populations. These findings suggest that some aspect of the environment is inhibiting virulence of the fungus at this unusual site.
","abstract_html":"<p>Little brown bats (<em>Myotis lucifugus</em>) at Tippy Dam in Michigan have shown resilience to white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This study evaluated the impact of environment (temperature and moisture), pathogen virulence, and host susceptibility on survival. Host response was assessed using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters (<em>n</em> = 37) and ultraviolet photography (<em>n</em> = 57), while fungal load (<em>n</em> = 56) was evaluated through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). High autumn temperatures (>10°C) favored growth of the fungus, while mid-hibernation temperature (3.2°C) was unfavorable. The mean torpor bout length (TBL) was similar to bats uninfected by WNS (16.8 days). Fungal loads were near the limit of detection (4.9 genome copies), and mean infection intensity (percent of wing area fluorescence) was low (0.02–0.14%) and much less when compared to severely affected populations. These findings suggest that some aspect of the environment is inhibiting virulence of the fungus at this unusual site.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Daly, Brooke A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Allen Kurta, Ph.D.","Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Michael Angell, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z","subjects":["disease","lucifugus","Myotis","Tippy","torpor","WNS","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1257","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Allen Kurta, Ph.D.","Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Michael Angell, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Daly, Brooke A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-09-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["disease","lucifugus","Myotis","Tippy","torpor","WNS","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1257"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at Tippy Dam in Michigan have shown resilience to white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This study evaluated the impact of environment (temperature and moisture), pathogen virulence, and host susceptibility on survival. Host response was assessed using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters (n = 37) and ultraviolet photography (n = 57), while fungal load (n = 56) was evaluated through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). High autumn temperatures (>10°C) favored growth of the fungus, while mid-hibernation temperature (3.2°C) was unfavorable. The mean torpor bout length (TBL) was similar to bats uninfected by WNS (16.8 days). Fungal loads were near the limit of detection (4.9 genome copies), and mean infection intensity (percent of wing area fluorescence) was low (0.02–0.14%) and much less when compared to severely affected populations. These findings suggest that some aspect of the environment is inhibiting virulence of the fungus at this unusual site.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Arousal patterns, fungal loads, and wing damage in a surviving population of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Allen Kurta, Ph.D.","Cara Shillington, Ph.D.","Michael Angell, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Daly, Brooke A."],"dc:date.available":["2024-09-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) at Tippy Dam in Michigan have shown resilience to white-nose syndrome (WNS), which is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This study evaluated the impact of environment (temperature and moisture), pathogen virulence, and host susceptibility on survival. Host response was assessed using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters (n = 37) and ultraviolet photography (n = 57), while fungal load (n = 56) was evaluated through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). High autumn temperatures (>10°C) favored growth of the fungus, while mid-hibernation temperature (3.2°C) was unfavorable. The mean torpor bout length (TBL) was similar to bats uninfected by WNS (16.8 days). Fungal loads were near the limit of detection (4.9 genome copies), and mean infection intensity (percent of wing area fluorescence) was low (0.02–0.14%) and much less when compared to severely affected populations. These findings suggest that some aspect of the environment is inhibiting virulence of the fungus at this unusual site.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1257"],"dc:subject":["disease","lucifugus","Myotis","Tippy","torpor","WNS","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"dc:title":["Arousal patterns, fungal loads, and wing damage in a surviving population of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z"}