Autor: |
Haley J Gmutza, Rodney W Foster, Jonathan M Gmutza, Gerald G Carter, Allen Kurta |
Jazyk: |
angličtina |
Rok vydání: |
2024 |
Předmět: |
|
Zdroj: |
PLoS ONE, Vol 19, Iss 2, p e0297871 (2024) |
Druh dokumentu: |
article |
ISSN: |
1932-6203 |
DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pone.0297871&type=printable |
Popis: |
White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that has decimated hibernating bats from multiple North American species. In 2014, the invasive fungus arrived at a hibernaculum of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) inside the spillway of Tippy Dam, located near Wellston, Michigan, USA, yet surprisingly, this population has not experienced the declines seen elsewhere. Unlike a typical subterranean hibernaculum, light enters the spillway through small ventilation holes. We hypothesized that this light causes the hibernating bats to maintain a circadian rhythm, thereby saving energy via social thermoregulation during synchronous arousals. To test this idea, we used high-resolution thermal cameras to monitor arousals from October 2019 to April 2020. We found that arousals followed a circadian rhythm, peaking after sunset, and that most observed arousals (>68%) occurred within a cluster of bats allowing for social thermoregulation. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that light-induced synchronized arousals contribute to the unprecedented absence of mass mortality from white-nose syndrome in this large population. Using light to maintain a circadian rhythm in bats should be tested as a potential tool for mitigating mortality from white-nose syndrome. More generally, studying populations that have been largely unaffected by white-nose syndrome may provide insight into mitigation strategies for protecting the remaining populations. |
Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
Externí odkaz: |
|
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje |
K zobrazení výsledku je třeba se přihlásit.
|