LE3 .A278 2023

2023

Shutler, Dave
Stewart, Don

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Invasive species can have devastating effects on native wildlife. In 2006, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), causative agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), was introduced from Europe to immunologically naïve bats in a New York hibernaculum. Pd has since spread across North America, causing extensive mortalities in multiple bat species. In Nova Scotia, Pd has caused a >90% decline in the little brown myotis Myotis lucifugus, historically the most abundant bat species in the province. Although Pd principally infects bats during hibernation, Pd spores carried to summer roosting sites could assist spread of the pathogen. Bat guano may provide a substrate for tracking Pd at these summer roost sites and reveal how temporal movements of cave-hibernating bats relates to spread and exposure. Pd has not yet been formally detected in every county in Nova Scotia. However, because declines are province-wide, this is highly likely. Additionally, little is known about bat intestinal parasites in Nova Scotia, and most endoparasite data on bats have been based on dissections. There are also no studies on associations between bat endoparasite communities and WNS. This study quantified the spatiotemporal distribution of Pd in Nova Scotia summer maternity roosts using genetic testing of guano samples. Pd was recorded for the first time in three Nova Scotia counties. This study is also testing three newly designed primers on DNA extracted from bat guano to trial molecular identification of bat endoparasite diversity in Nova Scotia.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:4035