Fatal fungus threatens Northwest’s bats

The National Park Service announced in September that the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats was found at San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington and on bat droppings at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon. Both the fungus and the disease, however, have been in Washington for nearly a decade.

“We’ve had white-nose syndrome in Washington since 2016,” said Abigail Tobin, white-nose syndrome coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.

White-nose syndrome is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans and is responsible for the deaths of about 7 million bats across North America since 2006. The fungus has been found in 22 counties, including Clark County, and white-nose syndrome has been identified in 10 counties.

Tobin said Washington was the first Western state to detect the disease in bats. She also said there’s a difference between spotting the fungus that causes the disease and finding the disease itself.

“Finding the fungus is kind of early stages, and then you start developing the disease,” she said.

While Oregon has found only the fungus present, Tobin said it’s only a matter of time before that state’s bats become infected with white-nose syndrome.

As bats enter a hibernation-like period during winter, the fungus grows on the bats’ wings, ears and muzzles, causing the bats to frequently awaken and expend vital energy and fat reserves. The bats eventually die from starvation.

Washington is home to seven native bat species, many of which can be found in Clark County. This includes the big brown bat, little brown bat, hoary bat and Yuma myotis.

“Western bats — their ecology is a little different than East Coast species. We don’t have colony bats grouping together in this big hibernacula,” Tobin said. “Rather, they’re more dispersed on the landscape, maybe roosting solitarily, or in small groups and oftentimes in places that are inaccessible to humans.”

This can make tracking bats and the spread of white-nose syndrome more difficult. In addition to taking samples from about 50 known colonies, Tobin said, the state works with rehabilitation specialists and labs testing for rabies and follows up on reports from the public.

“When we first found white-nose (syndrome), we couldn’t use the same techniques and monitoring approaches that were used in the East,” Tobin said. “We had to simultaneously track this disease, figure out who’s impacted and figure out the impacts without knowing where bats are in the winter.”

With bats difficult to find in the winter, Tobin said, the state fish and wildlife department began tracking bats during the summer, when they are easier to locate and any impacts from the focus over the winter will still be apparent.

“We’re also doing landscape acoustic monitoring. Bats echolocate, and each species has a unique echolocation call that we can record. We can see who’s on the landscape,” Tobin said. “Even landscape activity can mirror what’s happening in wintertime, so we can start seeing changes in species composition or lower activity because impacts of white-nose syndrome.”

While bats play a crucial role in ecosystem health — they help control insects and pests, pollinate plants, and disperse seeds — many people still dislike the tiny mammals. Few programs can be found in Clark County to support them, although the city of Vancouver hosts bat walks through its Water Resources Education Center, and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site has held events celebrating the winged creatures.

Clark Public Utilities spokesman Dameon Pesanti said the utility doesn’t have a bat-specific program and that “the closest we come is unofficially welcoming them to our pollinator gardens.”

At one time, the Port of Vancouver had several bat boxes on its property.

“Initially, the bat boxes were seeing some use, but it’s been years since we’ve seen indication bats were visiting them,” Casey Bowman, communications director for the port, said by email.

Tobin said the state is working on treatment options. She said researchers have developed methods that are applied during the summer months, and the state has participated in trials of those treatment options.

Additionally, researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey are working on a vaccine. Another treatment option is probiotics.

“There’s locally sourced, beneficial bacteria that can inhibit the growth of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome,” Tobin said. “We’ve teamed up with British Columbia and other Canadian folks to do that study here in Washington as well. The vaccine’s a little further along, and they’re seeing some really promising results.”

Shari Phiel: shari.phiel@columbian.com; 360-562-6317; @Shari_Phiel