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Publication Date
December 2014
Abstract
The physiological effects of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats and ultimate causes of mortality from infection with Pseudogymnoascus (formerly Geomyces) destructans are not fully understood. Increased frequency of arousal from torpor described among hibernating bats with late-stage WNS is thought to accelerate depletion of fat reserves, but the physiological mechanisms that lead to these alterations in hibernation behavior have not been elucidated. We used the doubly labeled water (DLW) method and clinical chemistry to evaluate energy use, body composition changes, and blood chemistry perturbations in hibernating little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) experimentally infected with P. destructans to better understand the physiological processes that underlie mortality from WNS.
Keywords
White-Nose Syndrome, Bats, Doubly Labeled Water
Document Type
Article
Notes
BMC Physiology, Vol. 14, no. 10 (2014-12-09).
Identifier
K26-00007
Recommended Citation
Verant, Michelle L.; Meteyer, Carol U.; and Speakman, John R., "White-nose syndrome initiates a cascade of physiologic disturbances in the hibernating bat host" (2014). KIP Articles. 5653.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/5653
