Indiana bats are federally endangered, and scientists are concerned about their health
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February 28, 2025
by
The Wildlife Society
Wildlifespeciescan’treallytellresearcherswhenthey’resick,sooneteamofscientistswantedtogetsomecluesintohowtheywerefeelingbystudyingtheirwaste.Indianabats(Myotissodalist)arefederallyendangered,andresearchersneedtoknowaboutthehealthofindividualstoknowiftherearepopulationimpacts.InastudypublishedinMicrobialGenomics,ateamofwildliferscapturedIndianabatsinfrontofahibernationsiteinMissouriandtookfecalsamples.Backatthelab,theyextractedDNAfromthesamplestogetabetterlookattheirgutmicrobiomesandanyparasitespresent.TheteamfoundthepresenceofaprotozoanparasitecalledEimeria,andbylookingatthebats’microbiomes,theycouldseehowtheparasiteaffectedthem.TheyfoundthatbatswithhighloadsofEimeriahadmoreClostridiumbacteria,whichisassociatedwithseveretissuedamageinotherspecies.“Thisiswhereourworkaddsvalue,”saidAndrewBennett,apostdoctoralresearcherattheUniversityofIllinoisUrbana-Champaignan
