USFWS Awards $1.4-Million in Grants for WNS Research
David Riggs
and Management of White-nose Syndrome in Bats
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced seven grant awards
totaling approximately $1.4 million to continue the investigation of
white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, and to identify ways to manage it.
The Service is leading a cooperative effort with federal and state
agencies, tribes, researchers, universities and other non-government
organizations to research and manage the spread of WNS. Funding for
grants was provided through Endangered Species Recovery funds. Grant
recipients were selected from among 31 grant proposals.
"Research will continue to be essential to the response to white-nose
syndrome in North America," said Dr. Jeremy Coleman, the Service’s
national WNS coordinator. "We have made incredible progress in our
understanding of the disease and how it affects bats, but we still
have work to do. These projects will help further our understanding of
WNS and the tools available to manage this devastating disease."
Funded projects include detailed studies of Geomyces destructans, the
fungus demonstrated to cause WNS, including how it interacts with bats
and the environment; developing a better understanding of how WNS is
transmitted; determining the mechanics of G. destructans infections in
bats, including the susceptibility and resistance of bats to the
infection; determining how persistent the fungus is in the
environment; and identifying and developing non-chemical control
options for treatment and prevention of spread of G. destructans.
2012 White-nose Syndrome Grant Recipients:
Assessing the risk of Geomyces destructans transmission by bats that
occupy contaminated hibernacula in late summer
Anne Ballmann, USGS National Wildlife Health Center; David Blehert;
Carol Meteyer; and Robin Russell
Characterization of climatic parameters within bat hibernacula, their
influence on environmental loads of Geomyces destructans, and
implications for the mitigation of white-nose syndrome in bats
David S. Blehert, USGS National Wildlife Health Center; Michelle L.
Verant; Jonathan Epstein; and Kevin Olival
Fungal Biocontrol Agents for Alleviation or Remediation of Geomyces destructans
Vishnu Chaturvedi, New York State Department of Health; and Sudha Chaturvedi
Antifungal skin microbes as tools for WNS management
Winifred F. Frick, University of California, Santa Cruz; A. Marm
Kilpatrick; Craig K.R. Willis; and Jeffrey T. Foster
Understanding WNS Survivors: Exploring Resilience and Resistance to
Variable Levels of Geomyces destructans Exposure in Context of
Mitigation and Conservation
DeeAnn Reeder, Bucknell University; and Ken Field
Test of Biocompatible, Biodegradable, Widely Available and Inexpensive
Anti-Fungal Agent on the Growth of G. destructans, the Causative Agent
of White-Nose Syndrome, on Experimentally Infected Bats Under
Controlled Laboratory Conditions
Maarten J. Vonhof, Western Michigan University; Timothy C. Carter; and
M. Kevin Keel
Laboratory Studies of Host-Pathogen Interactions between Geomyces
destructans and Bats
Craig Willis, University of Winnipeg; Trent K. Bollinger; Paul Cryan;
Winifred F. Frick; A. Marm Kilpatrick; Vikram Misra; and Gudrun
Wibbelt
--
David A. Riggs
Myotisoft, LLC
463 Oak Street
Morgantown, WV 26505
http://www.myotisoft.com
dri...@myotisoft.com
(304) 685-7537