Changing Behaviour of Bats Slows White-Nose Syndrome Recent
research has revealed that bats that hibernate in dense clusters
are being hit harder by white-nose syndrome. Biologists at the
University of California, Santa Cruz comparing bat species that
hibernate alone to those that hibernate together found that
declines were less severe in smaller colonies of solitary bats.
In contrast, bat species that hibernate in close proximity saw
steep declines even in small colonies. It appears that the dense
clusters allow the fungus to transmit at a high rate, allowing
for continued decline. While studying data from bat surveys
between 1979 and 2010, researchers discovered that two bat
species have become more solitary in the wake of white-nose
syndrome. The little brown bat, one of the hardest hit species,
is no longer predicted to become extinct after it began changing
its social behaviour. Up to 75 percent of the once highly social
species which hibernates in dense clusters, are now being found
roosting alone. This