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Contaminant exposure as an additional stressor to bats affected by white-nose syndrome: current evidence and knowledge gaps

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Abstract

Bats are exposed to numerous threats including pollution and emerging diseases. In North America, the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused declines in many bat species. While the mechanisms of WNS have received considerable research attention, possible influences of contaminants have not. Herein, we review what is known about contaminant exposure and toxicity for four species whose populations have been severely affected by WNS (Myotis sodalis, M. septentrionalis, M. lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) and identify temporal and spatial data gaps. We determine that there is limited information about the effects of contaminants on bats, and many compounds that have been detected in these bat species have yet to be evaluated for toxicity. The four species examined were exposed to a wide variety of contaminants; however, large spatial and knowledge gaps limit our ability to evaluate if contaminants contribute to species-level declines and if contaminant exposure exacerbates infection by WNS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and Riley Bernard for providing feedback that greatly improved the manuscript. CL was supported by the Nancy Gore Hunger Professorship in Environmental Studies at the University of Tennessee.

Author contributions

AC, EW, and CL developed the idea for and content of the review article. AC conducted literature searches and wrote the review article. AC, EW, and CL revised all versions of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, 274 Ellington Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA

    Ashleigh B. Cable & Emma V. Willcox

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 569 Dabney Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-1610, USA

    Christy Leppanen

  3. The Center for Tobacco Products, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, 20993-0002, USA

    Christy Leppanen

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  1. Ashleigh B. Cable
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Correspondence to Emma V. Willcox.

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Although Christy Leppanen is an FDA/CTP employee, this work was not done as part of her official duties. This publication reflects the views of the author and should not be construed to reflect the FDA/CTP’s views or policies.

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Cable, A.B., Willcox, E.V. & Leppanen, C. Contaminant exposure as an additional stressor to bats affected by white-nose syndrome: current evidence and knowledge gaps. Ecotoxicology 31, 12–23 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-021-02475-6

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