Protecting the Biosphere’s Bats

Building Resilience Against White-Nose Syndrome

As the only mammals capable of flight, bats play a fascinating and unique role in our ecosystems. Bats provide billions of dollars in pest control services across North America every year by controlling insect populations, including pests that damage crops and spread diseases, providing significant benefits to farmers.

As key predators of invertebrates (insects), bats help regulate pest populations in forests, agricultural lands and urban areas. For example, endangered Little Brown Bats can eat up to 600 mosquito-sized insects per hour, helping reduce our reliance on harmful insecticides, which have negative health effects on humans. Their role is not just important – it's vital for maintaining the health and balance of our ecosystems.

But these important ecosystem protectors are facing a serious threat.

For nearly two decades, a deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome has been spreading across North America, devastating bat populations and endangering some of Alberta’s most common bat species. In 2024, researchers with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada’s Alberta Community Bat Program, and their partners, collected samples from around Alberta to test for the fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), which is responsible for this disease. Several of the samples collected from various locations around the Beaver Hills Biosphere tested positive, marking a major geographic advancement of the pathogen in Alberta. Pd is believed to have originated in Europe and was first introduced to North America in New York in 2006. Since then, it has steadily spread northward and westward, moving from state to state and province to province, harming bat populations as it goes.

The first detection of Pd in Alberta was found in Little Brown Myotis bats in 2022 along the Red Deer River. They were confirmed to have white-nose syndrome. Last year, the virus was found in two of Alberta’s most important ecosystems, the Beaver Hills Biosphere and Waterton Biosphere, marking a more than 300 km spread northward and 185 km westward of Pd in Alberta. With its established presence, conservationists are predicting that white-nose syndrome will soon emerge in these areas, potentially resulting in a catastrophic die-off of the region’s bat populations.

During hibernation, bats downregulate their immune system and their bodies remain at temperatures just above zero, leaving them vulnerable to Pd as the fungus thrives in cold temperatures. The disease manifests through the growth of the fungus on the bat’s skin which in turn invades and digests their skin tissues. As the bats intermittently warm up to fight the fungus, they use up their valuable fat reserves. The repeated disruption in their hibernation leads to dehydration, starvation and ultimately death before insects are available in the spring.

Furthermore, white-nose syndrome severely depletes bats' energy reserves, which could lower their already slow reproductive rates, which in turn may have profound negative impact on bat populations.

“In some jurisdictions of eastern North America, caves infected by this fungus have been found with thousands of dead bats scattered across the floor and, in some regions, a more than 90% decline in hibernating bat population has been reported,” explains Cory Olson, Program Coordinator for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada’s Alberta Community Bat Program. However, he notes that it’s not certain whether Alberta’s bats will be as vulnerable and additional monitoring and testing is needed.

There currently is no cure for white-nose syndrome. Scientists, biologists and conservationists world-wide are working together to study the disease, how it spreads and infects bats and what we can do to control it, including making changes to bat habitat that hopefully will lead to increased survival of bats from this devastating disease.

The Beaver Hills’ sister Biosphere, Waterton Biosphere Region, in southern Alberta, is also keenly aware of the serious nature of this disease. They have actively been working with local landowners to build resiliency for bats since 2015.

Conservation Biologist Elizabeth Anderson from Waterton Biosphere Region emphasizes that raising awareness about the syndrome and collaborating with landowners to protect bat habitats is more crucial now than ever.

“We want affected bat populations to be going into the threat in the best condition possible to increase their rebound abilities,” says Elizabeth.

This approach aligns with the goals of the Beaver Hills Biosphere’s Living with Wildlife initiative, which seeks to foster a culture of coexistence with wildlife and inspire others to do the same. When it comes to bats, this commitment can take many forms.

If you are a landowner with bats or bat roosts on your property, take steps to ensure their habitats stay healthy and thriving. Be mindful of how our actions affect bat habitats by staying out of caves or other bat hibernation sites and respecting seasonal cave closures. Simple changes, like turning off unnecessary outdoor lights at night in the warmer months can help bats forage more freely and prevent insects from clustering in one area. Every small effort counts in supporting these essential creatures.

If you see a winter-flying bat, find a dead bat during the winter or early spring or want more information on how to support bats, please contact the Alberta Community Bat Program or refer to the Government of Alberta’s brochure.

For more information about bat health, visit the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative’s webpage.

Watch Waterton Biosphere Region’s short video about the important role bats play in Alberta’s ecological landscape.