[PHOTO CREDIT: WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME.ORG]
As you can see in the above map, white-nose syndrome continued to spread at a rapid pace during the 2012-2013 winter season. Nine new counties in Canada were confirmed white-nose positive. There were so many dead bats submitted from Atlantic Canada that it took until June to process them all and update these maps.
Many of these bats were found dying or dead in the snow by local residents. Suzanne and Martin Turgeon, keen local naturalists with an interest in photography, found a dead Little Brown Bat near a summer house in northern New Brunswick when they went to boil maple water. A necropsy done by Scott McBurney of CCWHC found that the bat had white-nose syndrome, and so another county was added to the map.
[PHOTO CREDIT: SUZANNE AND MARTIN TURGEON]
Hibernating bat populations have decreased by 91% in Nova Scotia, 99% in New Brunswick, 84% in Ontario, and 90% in Quebec.
The only other province with white-nose syndrome, Prince Edward Island, has also experienced significant bat mortality in the winter. However, the bat population on the island pre-WNS is unknown so the magnitude of the decline cannot be determined. This level of mortality is also being seen in the northeastern United States and will no doubt continue as the disease spreads west across the continent. Scientists have estimated that 5.7-6.7 million bats have died so far.
Karen Vanderwolf
Karen has been interested in the natural world for as long as she can remember, and she always knew her career would take her into the field of biology. Karen received her Masters of Science at the University of New Brunswick, where she studied bats and the pre-white-nose syndrome fungal flora that occurs on them. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in biology at the University of Western Ontario. Karen has previously worked with Ontario Parks, performing plant and salamander field work; assisted in preparations for a Karner Blue Butterfly reintroduction; and worked with Swift Foxes, Wood Turtles and waterfowl.
