Small bats in damp places doomed

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Emerging Diseases![Figure][1] White nose syndrome in bat found in Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia, USA CREDIT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Emerging diseases are often selective killers. White nose syndrome (WNS), for example, is caused by a fungal pathogen that kills bats by disrupting hibernation. Introduced to North America from Europe in 2006, it has spread to 26 states and 5 Canadian provinces and killed millions of bats. Yet several species, like their European counterparts, survive infection. Hayman et al. used complex models of hibernation, pathogen energetics, and local climate to try to understand WNS's enigmatic selectivity. Small infected bats that hibernate in damp habitats are less likely to survive than larger bats that hibernate in dry habitats. These findings may help toward predicting the spread and selective toll of WNS on North American bats. Sci. Adv. 10.1126.sciadv.00831 (2016). [1]: pending:yes