Dr. Sewall has won a competitive grant to investigate a disease of hibernating bats known as white-nose syndrome, which has spread to colonies in dozens of states and several Canadian provinces, causing severe die-offs of many bat colonies in the affected area. The disease is caused by a newly-described fungus known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans (formerly Geomyces destructans), which reduces the capacity of bats to survive the hibernation period, leading in some cases to mass mortality events and bat population decline. The objectives of the grant will be to improve understanding of (1) the effects of this emerging disease on populations of hibernating bat species, (2) correlates of bat susceptibility to the disease, and (3) management strategies needed to address this disease and conserve bat populations. The study will focus on Pennsylvania’s bat species, but the research will have implications for bat conservation well beyond this state. The grant is entitled “White-nose syndrome and Pennsylvania’s bat populations: Statewide statistical analysis to understand disease impacts and inform management of hibernating bat species,” and it has been funded by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
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We have open postdoctoral fellow positions including one beginning in early to mid 2024 on Butterfly Ecology and Conservation and another with a flexible start date on Quantitative Ecology and Conservation Biology (see Opportunities page)
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We have open doctoral positions beginning in summer or fall of 2024 on Protecting Hibernating Bats from White-Nose Syndrome and the Ecology and Conservation of Rare and Threatened Butterflies
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Other opportunities are also available for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students (see Opportunities page)