Alberta bats could be better adapted to slow spread of white-nose syndrome

Alberta's batscould fare better against a deadly diseasethan their counterparts in eastern North America, a wildlife specialist says.

White-nose syndromehas been devastating bat populations as itcreepsacross North America. Last week, American officials confirmed the first case of White Nose Syndrome in Washington state.

It's a sign that the fungal disease, which originated in Europe and then was discovered in New York state in 2006, has made its way to the west coast.

"It's probably more a case of when it gets here rather than if it gets here," saidMargoPybus, a wildlife disease specialist with Alberta Fish and Wildlife.

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Hibernating habits

Naturalists have said this could be a death sentence for bat populations. But according to Pybus, Alberta's bats have different hibernating patterns that might help the population survive.

"The difference between our bats in Alberta and bats in eastern North Americais we don't see the tremendous numbers of bats all accumulated in one location," Pybus told the Calgary Eyopener."You could easily have 100,000 bats hibernating in one cave together."

"In Alberta, we don't see those numbers," Pybus added."We would maybe see a few thousand bats."

That could be a good thing, she said. The fungus attacks bats while they hibernate, so a more dispersed population could possibly slow the spread of the disease.

"It could be a slower effect and not as devastating," Pybus said."But in the long run we really don't know how this is going to play out."

Bats 'holding their own'

For right now, Pybus said Alberta's bats are thriving.

"They are extremely healthy andwe have good numbers," she said.

"There are some ongoing threats in terms of habitat loss and we have mortality at some wind farm facilities and that sort of thing, but in general, the bats are holding their own and doing quite well."

As for how to combat white-nose syndrome, Pybus said a lot of the onus is on people.Those who enter bat caves should decontaminate clothing and equipment, and travellers coming from the east should avoid them altogether.

"The only thing we can do is address the risk that people might move this fungus around," she said.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener