Highlights
- El Malpais caves provide ideal temperature and relative humidity conditions for P. destructans
- Close relatives of P. destructans were documented in El Malpais study caves
- No P. destructans presence was detected
- Areas at highest risk for becoming infected with P. destructans were identified
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a bat disease caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which thrives in cold and very humid environments where bats frequently hibernate. Conidia of Pseudogymnoascus species are often documented on bats prior to the onset of WNS, but characterization of high-risk areas defined by microclimate cave conditions have been lacking. Investigating the occurrence of this fungal genus and appropriate environmental conditions to support P. destructans in southwestern U.S. caves is key to understanding the sites most likely to be impacted by WNS. Microclimate conditions in ten caves at El Malpais (ELMA) National Monument in New Mexico, USA were recorded using i-Button data loggers during the winters of 2011–2014 to assess appropriate environmental conditions (temperature and relative humidity) for P. destructans and other Pseudogymnoascus species. Optimal microclimate conditions for P. destructans and other psychrophilic fungi were found in all the caves with at least 50% of the caves identified as high-risk areas. Pseudogymnoascus species were detected in 70% of the caves using culturing methods and PCR, but no soil samples were positive for P. destructans using real-time PCR in soil and guano samples. Pseudogymnoascus destructans has a recognized range of appropriate temperatures and relative humidity for growth and cave microclimate can help define high-risk areas. This study offers resource managers guidance for establishing priority monitoring areas in their bat caves to determine which bat species are at higher risk.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.48.2.2254
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Torres-Cruz, Terry J.; Andrea Porras-Alfaro; Nicole A. Caimi; Ogochukwu Nwabologu; Edward W. Strach; Kaitlyn J.H. Read; Jesse M. Young; Debbie C. Buecher; and Diana E. Northup.
2019.
Are microclimate conditions in El Malpais National Monument caves in New Mexico, USA suitable for Pseudogymnoascus growth?.
International Journal of Speleology,
48: 191-202.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol48/iss2/7
Table S1. Pseudogymnoascus spp. isolates from cave soil from El Malpais National Monument (ELMA) or Carlsbad Caverns National Park (CAVE) sites.
Figure S1.png (130 kB)
Figure S1. Map and microclimate data for ELMA cave 12. A. Map of Cave 12 showing data logger and soil sampling. Stars indicate data logger position, ☆ Data-logger where climate is not conducive to WNS >50% of the time, ★ Data-logger where climate is conducive to WNS >50% of the time. Triangles indicate soil sampling locations, △ Soil sample with no indication of Pseudogymnoascus spp., ▲ Soil sample with presence of Pseudogymnoascus spp. B. Microclimate scatter plot for ELMA 12 – Logger EM13 (where climate is not conducive to WNS >50% of the time) for November 2011-April 2012.
