2021 journal article

Continued preference for suboptimal habitat reduces bat survival with white-nose syndrome

Nature Communications, 12(1), 166.

By: S. Hopkins* , J. Hoyt *, J. White *, H. Kaarakka*, J. Redell*, J. DePue*, W. Scullon*, A. Kilpatrick *, K. Langwig *

MeSH headings : Animal Diseases / microbiology; Animal Diseases / mortality; Animals; Ascomycota; Chiroptera / microbiology; Conservation of Natural Resources; Ecosystem; Fungi / pathogenicity; Michigan; Nose; Population Dynamics; Survival; Temperature; Wisconsin
TL;DR: It is shown that bats have not altered their microclimate preferences due to temperature-mediated mortality from white-nose syndrome, finding instead a sustained preference for warmer sites with high mortality, demonstrating that host preferences for habitats with high disease-induced mortality can create ecological traps that threaten populations, even in the presence of accessible refugia. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water (Web of Science)
15. Life on Land (Web of Science)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: April 19, 2021

AbstractHabitat alteration can influence suitability, creating ecological traps where habitat preference and fitness are mismatched. Despite their importance, ecological traps are notoriously difficult to identify and their impact on host–pathogen dynamics remains largely unexplored. Here we assess individual bat survival and habitat preferences in the midwestern United States before, during, and after the invasion of the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome. Despite strong selection pressures, most hosts continued to select habitats where disease severity was highest and survival was lowest, causing continued population declines. However, some individuals used refugia where survival was higher. Over time, a higher proportion of the total population used refugia than before pathogen arrival. Our results demonstrate that host preferences for habitats with high disease-induced mortality can create ecological traps that threaten populations, even in the presence of accessible refugia.