| The Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) population had decreased by 56% between 1967 and 2006. In summer 2006, a mysterious disease called "White Nose Syndrome" was first identified. Since then, the disease killed almost one million bats in North America. Many Biologists believe that both the population decrease before the appearance of the disease and WNS are associated with climate. In a joined effort with Yellowstone Ecological Research Center (YERC), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and NASA Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS), our study is a partial population viability analysis which aims to establish a link between bat population dynamic and climate before the appearance of WNS. |
