White Nose Syndrome and Bat Colony Management

“White nose syndrome is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in 29 states and five Canadian provinces have died from this devastating disease” (www.nwhc.usgs.gov). The symptoms of this disease include things like skin erosion on the bat’s muzzle or wing tissue. Another indicator for this disease is abnormal hibernation patterns. Research needs to continue to increase for this disease because on a large scale this can impact farmers the most. If a cure is not found soon, the populations of the insects that the bats eat will increase, therefore, the crops will be destroyed and rendered useless. The researcher will be studying local/resident perceptions of how various government agencies manage bat colonies and thus white nose syndrome, and how these agencies facilitate educational outreach. He will also be facilitating surveys, completing data entry, data analysis, and develop a manuscript for a peer reviewed journal