Genetic Demography of Perimyotis subflavus Reveals Regional Population Trends
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Biology
Mentor Information
Amy Russell
Department
Biology
Location
Kirkhof Center 2266
Start Date
11-4-2012 10:00 AM
Abstract
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an epidemic affecting hibernating bats across eastern North America. It is generally associated with the presence of a white, soil dwelling fungus, Geomyces destructans. Since its discovery in New York in 2006, WNS has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of bat deaths. Mortality rates of affected individuals have reached 90-100% in some hibernacula. Many of the studies regarding WNS focus on little brown myotis, Myotis lucifugus, which has experienced an 87% decline, though at least five other species have also been significantly affected. Tri-colored bats, Perimyotis subflavus, have experienced an 85% decline in the northeastern states, yet little work has been done involving P. subflavus. We present phylogeographic analyses of mitochondrial sequence data from P. subflavus, focusing on patterns of population genetic structure and estimates of effective population size.
Genetic Demography of Perimyotis subflavus Reveals Regional Population Trends
Kirkhof Center 2266
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an epidemic affecting hibernating bats across eastern North America. It is generally associated with the presence of a white, soil dwelling fungus, Geomyces destructans. Since its discovery in New York in 2006, WNS has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of bat deaths. Mortality rates of affected individuals have reached 90-100% in some hibernacula. Many of the studies regarding WNS focus on little brown myotis, Myotis lucifugus, which has experienced an 87% decline, though at least five other species have also been significantly affected. Tri-colored bats, Perimyotis subflavus, have experienced an 85% decline in the northeastern states, yet little work has been done involving P. subflavus. We present phylogeographic analyses of mitochondrial sequence data from P. subflavus, focusing on patterns of population genetic structure and estimates of effective population size.