Disease

White-nose syndrome: Some bats develop resistance

Some bat populations in North America appear to have developed resistance to the deadly fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome. Researchers from the University of New Hampshire analyzed infection data and population trends of the little brown bat in the eastern United States and found that persisting populations long exposed to the disease had much lower fungal infection levels at the end of winter than bat populations that were still declining and only recently exposed.

The little brown bat was previously one of the most abundant bat species in the eastern United States, but was reduced to less than 10 percent of its former population with the arrival of white-nose syndrome. The fungus was introduced to New York in 2006, and continues to spread across the U.S. and Canada.