Shifts in the reproductive community pre- and post-WNS
M.S. thesis research
The objective of this study was to assess how WNS, winter duration, and local climate impact the reproduction of female bats in the southeastern United States. With variability in local and regional susceptibility to WNS, it is important to assess the combined impacts of hibernation behavior, local climate, and winter duration on energetics of reproduction. Winter duration and local climate conditions before hibernation can greatly influence the survival rates of overwintering bats (Ehlman et al. 2013; Hranac et al. 2021). I used data from multiple states across the southeast to test competing hypotheses of impacts on the number of reproductive females in bat populations in respect to WNS. First, I hypothesized that the impacts of WNS on susceptible species would be modulated by winter duration. Longer winters mean more time in hibernation requiring greater fat stores and may result in increased energetic stress with WNS, resulting in less reproduction. Shorter winters allow more time spent foraging to build up those fat stores and could reduce the impacts of WNS. Therefore, I predicted that there would be a negative relationship between winter duration and the number of reproductive females post-hibernation in WNS-susceptible species. Alternatively, I hypothesized that reproductive potential is dependent on pre-hibernation foraging throughout spring, summer, and fall to enhance fattening. Thus, I predicted there would be a positive relationship between pre-hibernation climate conditions that are conducive to foraging and the number of reproductive females the following year. Additionally, I proposed two competing hypotheses of how WNS will impact the number of reproductive females. First, I expected there would be clear differences between the pre-and post-WNS abundance of reproductive individuals. Alternatively, I suspected there would be local adaptation in the years since WNS was confirmed. If this hypothesis held true, I expected that years since WNS would better explain variation in reproductive females compared to pre-or post-WNS exposure.
This work was in collaboration with Fort Campbell Fish and Wildlife.
This work was in collaboration with Fort Campbell Fish and Wildlife.