10 - Non-zoonotic disease (bats) Flashcards

1
Q

Bats make up what % of all mammalian species? Order?

A

20%
Chiroptera

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2
Q

Smallest bat? Largest bat?

A

Smallest = kitti’s hog-nosed bat (bumblebee bat; 2g)

Largest = giant golden crowed flying fox (5’6” wingspan, fruit bat)

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3
Q

Suborders of chiroptera

A
  • megachiroptera (flying foxes): fruit eating
  • microchiroptera: echolocating
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4
Q

What do most bats eat?

A

70% are insectivores
Most of rest are fruit eaters

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5
Q

How many bat species in Canada

A

19-21

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6
Q

How many species of bats in US/Canada? What are the endangered spp? How many rely on hibernation?

A

45 species

Gray bat, big-eared bat, indiana bat, etc endangered

25% rely on hibernation

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7
Q

Bat lifespan and birth rate

A

> 20 year lifespan

Slow birth rate (=population recovery very slow)

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8
Q

Bat that pollinates agave plan

A

Mexican long-tongued bat

Nectar eater
Get tequila from distillation of juices from agave

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9
Q

Association between long-nosed bats and agave

A

Bat-plant association is so strong, the disappearance of one would threaten the survival of the other

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10
Q

Indirect effects of bats on one health

A
  • pest control (echolocators)
  • pollination
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11
Q

What is durian

A

One of the most important fruits of SE asia
Export value: 254 million USD

Pollinated primarily by bats

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12
Q

How do bats affect corn crops?

A

Important for predation of insects

Structures are inserted into corn fields and a net is put over corn plots in the evening and taken down during the day
Found that bat prey (insects) had a large impact on corn (more larva, damaged kernels)

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13
Q

How many insects are consumed by a colony of big brown bats in a year? How many by a little brown bat in a night?

A

1.5 million insects a year

4-8 g of insects each night

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14
Q

Value of bats per acre? To the US agriculture industry per year?

A

$12-$173/acre value in pest suppression

~22.9 billion/year value to US ag industry

Includes reduced cost of pesticide applications that are not needed

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15
Q

What is white-nosed syndrome? Caused by…

A

Emerging infectious disease
Affects hibernating cave-dwelling bats throughout NA

Caused by fungus (Pseudogymnoascus destructans)

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16
Q

Where did WNS emerge in NA?

A

New York state in 2006

Winter of 2006-07: ~10,000 bats dead and dying in four caves

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17
Q

Slides 25, 26

A

Spread in NA

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18
Q

Mortality with WNS? Spread in NA?

A

> 6 million bats in NA dead (likely higher)

Spread to 43 US states and 10 provinces

19
Q

Different ways bats are affected by WNS

A
  • 12 bat species get skin lesions (white fungus on muzzle and/or wings)
  • 9 species DNA (pathogen identified by DNA tests, mortality less likely to be discovered)
20
Q

Three species that have declined >90% bc of WNS

A

Northern long-eared bat
Little brown bat (Myotis lucifigus)
Tricolored bat

21
Q

Signs of WNS

A
  • white fungus on bats body
  • flying outside during day in very cold temperatures (animals are starving; fungus uses up energy reserves)
  • bats clustered near the entrance of hibernacula
  • dead or dying bats on the ground, on buildings, trees during winter months
22
Q

P. destructans infection? Temperature growth range? Bat body temp?

A

Fungal infectious of skin (bat wing) (not systemic)

Growth range: 4-20C
Optimal growth 12-16C

Active bats: 37-40C body temp
Hibernating bats: 1-16C (in optimal range)

23
Q

Why is WNS only found in hibernating bats (not migrating)

A

Hibernating bats body temps drop into optimal growth range (12-16C) for P. destructans

24
Q

How does bat hibernation work in infected vs uninfected bats?

A

Torpor (decreased physical activity / decreased physiological activity)

Uninfected bats: bouts of torpor last from days-> weeks (brief <3h arousals)

Infected bats: increased arousal episodes, increased fat depletion

25
Q

Why was P. destructans being the cause of WNS initially controversial?

A
  • fungal infections in mammals typically a response to immune dysfunction
  • P destructans present in bat pops in EU with no evident bat mortality
26
Q

How did they prove WNS was caused by P destructans?

A

Exposure of healthy little brown bats to pure cultures of P destructans causes WNS

Live P destructans was subsequently cultured from diseased bats

Koch’s postulates

= P destructans is primary pathogen

27
Q

2 hypotheses of EU vs NA WNS

A
  1. WNS historically present in Europe
    - european bats adapted to the disease
    - accidentally transported to NA (tourist cave)
  2. P. destructans variant in NA?
28
Q

P destructans global origin? How

A

Western EU

EU and NA strains both cause disease when experimentally inoculated in North American bat (same pathogen)

29
Q

Slides 45, 47

A

Look

30
Q

Colony numbers of the little brown bat are declining, however…

A
  • 12 banded bats with WNS survived over multiple years
  • 14/20 recaptured bats had healed wing damage
31
Q

What is happening in persisting bat populations?

A
  • over winter mortality declining (~80% -> ~50%)
  • 2x increase in torpor bout length (increase in body fat)
32
Q

Treatments for WNS

A
  • vaccine in development
  • antifungal experiments
33
Q

How can temperature affect P. destructans growth

A
  • grows more slowly at temperatures lower than optimal range (colder hibernacula: 3-6C)
  • low humidity associated w reduced growth
34
Q

How can we cool bat hibernacula

A

One-time engineering of entrances (sealing main entrance, side entrances used by bats)
- cools on average 2.1C
- populations increased over time
- cool warm sties that were not being used by bats

35
Q

How do wind turbines affect bats? Fatalities?

A

Tree-dwelling, migratory bat species are susceptible to wind turbines

600,000-900,000 annual bat fatalities

36
Q

Wind turbine collision is linked to…

A

blade movement

37
Q

How are hoary bats at risk bc of wind turbines

A
  • 2.5 million of them in Canada
  • estimated 2.3% mortality annually for next 15 years
  • migratory (US and Canada wind turbines)
  • 11.5% decline in 15 years
38
Q

Direct means of bat deaths by wind turbines

A
  • collision with blades
  • barotrauma (drop in air pressure at the turbines, bats become disoriented)
39
Q

Conclusion on barotrauma from a recent paper…

A

Barotrauma not the cause of bat fatalities
Pressure changes that occur in proximity to moving blades affect is low

40
Q

Five hypotheses of why bats are attracted to wind turbines

A
  • attracted to the noise
  • increased prey availability
  • wind turbines as roost sites
  • rendezvous point to mating aggregations
  • olfaction

Slide 66**

41
Q

Most likely hypothesis on why bats are attracted to turbines

A

Wind turbines as potential roost sites (migratory bats attracted to tall structures)

42
Q

How can we mitigate bat mortality

A
  • most fatalities occur in low-wind conditions (less activity in high)
  • raising “cut in” speed (wind speed at which turbines produce electricity/ blade movement occurs)
  • mortality reductions of >44%
43
Q

Bat fatality reduction when turbines not operating with mean wind speeds of…

A

reduced 82 to 85% if not operating with mean wind speeds of less than 6 m/sec