Exceptional Longevity in Little Brown Bats Still Occurs, despite Presence of White-Nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome is an introduced fungal disease that has reduced the size of hibernating populations of little brown bats Myotis lucifugus by 90% across much of eastern North America since 2007. Herein, we report the recapture of eight banded little brown bats, all males, with minimum ages of 18...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish and wildlife management 2020-12, Vol.11 (2), p.583-587
Main Authors: Kurta, Allen, Foster, Rodney W, Daly, Brooke A, Wilson, Ashley K, Slider, Robin M, Rockey, Craig D, Rockey, Jacqueline M, Long, Brenna L, Auteri, Giorgia G, Collins, Jason D, White, J. Paul, Kaarakka, Heather M, Redell, Jennifer A, Reeder, DeeAnn M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal diseases
Animals
Bats
Chiroptera
Diseases
Fungal diseases
Health aspects
Longevity
Males
White-nose syndrome
Zoological research
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Summary:White-nose syndrome is an introduced fungal disease that has reduced the size of hibernating populations of little brown bats Myotis lucifugus by 90% across much of eastern North America since 2007. Herein, we report the recapture of eight banded little brown bats, all males, with minimum ages of 18.6–25.6 y. The recaptures occurred during winter 2019–2020, at a hibernaculum in Michigan where white-nose syndrome likely has been present since 2013–2014, indicating that these old and apparently healthy males are in their seventh season of exposure to the disease. Hence, our data suggest that a long life in little brown bats and existence of white-nose syndrome are not necessarily incompatible.
ISSN:1944-687X
1944-687X
DOI:10.3996/JFWM-20-039