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Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 19, pages 196–210 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The recent introduction of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in bats) from Eurasia to North America has resulted in the collapse of North American bat populations and restructured species communities. The long evolutionary history between P. destructans and bats in Eurasia makes understanding host life history essential to uncovering the ecology of P. destructans. In this Review, we combine information on pathogen and host biology to understand the patterns of P. destructans spread, seasonal transmission ecology, the pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome and the cross-scale impact from individual hosts to ecosystems. Collectively, this research highlights how early pathogen detection and quantification of host impacts has accelerated the understanding of this newly emerging infectious disease.

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Fig. 1: Global distribution of Pseudogymnoascus destructans.
Fig. 2: Seasonality and within-site transmission of Pseudogymnoascus destructans.
Fig. 3: Effects of Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection on bat hosts.
Fig. 4: Impacts of Pseudogymnoascus destructans on bat populations.
Fig. 5: General mechanisms of host persistence.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank S. Yamada for assistance with data curation, N. Fuller, N. Laggan, A. Grimaudo and J. Reichard for helpful comments on the manuscript, and the US National Science Foundation for funding (DEB-1911853).

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    Joseph R. Hoyt & Kate E. Langwig

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    A. Marm Kilpatrick

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Hoyt, J.R., Kilpatrick, A.M. & Langwig, K.E. Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats. Nat Rev Microbiol 19, 196–210 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-020-00493-5

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