News Finding: But the remarkably high rate of infection during hibernation leads to high mortality rates at the time of year when bat populations are naturally at their lowest, before the females give birth in the summer.
Paper Finding: Increases in infectiousness as the fungus grows on hibernating bats may drive winter transmission, with loads increasing throughout the winter.
News Context: Bats that survive the winter are able to clear the infection during summer when their body temperatures are above the growth limit of the fungus. But the remarkably high rate of infection during hibernation leads to high mortality rates at the time of year when bat populations are naturally at their lowest, before the females give birth in the summer. The study provides the first description of the dynamics of fungal infection and transmission in bats, and the findings are in striking contrast to most infectious diseases, said senior author Marm Kilpatrick, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz.
Paper Context: If contact with an environmental reservoir drives transmission, then prevalence would be predicted to increase significantly as bats contact infected environments. Increases in infectiousness as the fungus grows on hibernating bats may drive winter transmission, with loads increasing throughout the winter. Phenology varies by latitude; bats in southern sites have shorter hibernation seasons, swarm later in the autumn and return to maternity colonies earlier .