The origin of White-Nose Syndrome in Little Brown Bats

Part 1 Questions

1. What is the basic question of the study and why is it interesting?

The basic question of thIs study is “Is the European strand of Pseudogymnoascus destructans causing White-noise syndrome (WNS) in the United States?” This question is interesting because if it is the European strand of P. destructans causing WNS in North America then why is it not occurring in as high of levels and why are bats not dying in as big of a capacity in Europe as the bats in North America.

2. What specific testable hypotheses can you develop to explain the observations and answer the basic question of this study? Write at least two alternative hypotheses.

• Hypothesis #1: The P. destructans strand causing WNS in North America is the same strand circulating in the European bats.
• Hypothesis #2: The P. destructans strand causing WNS in North America is a different version of the P. destructans strand causing WNS in Europe.

3. What predictions about the effects of European strains of P.

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destructans on North American bats can you make if your hypotheses are correct? Write at least one prediction for each of your hypotheses.

If my hypotheses are correct then the European strand of P. destructans is killing North American bats in larger quantities because of environmental differences in hypothesis #1. The result in hypothesis #2 would be that North American bats are dying at a faster rate than European because they are not the same strand of P. destructans.

Part 2 Questions

1. Explicitly state the researchers null and alternative hypotheses for this study.

The researchers null hypothesis is that the European P. destructans will affect North American bat hibernation at least as severely as does North American P. destructans.

The researchers alternative hypothesis is that the disorder arouses them from hibernation, causing the bats to waste fat reserves flying during the winter when food is not readily available. 2. Describe an experiment you could use to differentiate between the null and alternative hypotheses.

An experiment could be devised in which bats are taken in a large quantity and one group in injected with the North American P. destructans strand, a second group is injected with the European P. destructans strand and a third group is injected with a placebo. The bats should be placed in a cave like setting and the effects of the injections should be examined.

Part 3 Questions

1. Use the graph below to predict what the results will look like if the null hypothesis is supported. The total arousal counts in the control treatment at each interval is graphed for you. Justify your predictions.
2. Use the graph below to predict what the results will look like if the null hypothesis is rejected. The total arousal counts in the control treatment at each interval is graphed for you. Justify your predictions.

Part 4 Questions

Study Results

1. How do your predictions compare with the experimental results? Be specific. My predictions for the acceptance of the null hypothesis were very similar to the actual results with a few variations. My prediction of total arousal times for the first interval were the same however, on the second interval I had 60 total arousal times for the bats injected with the European P. destructans strand and the actual results had a total arousal of 80 bats injected with the European strand at interval
2. At interval third I had 70 bats arousing with the North American strand and 100 bats arousing with the European strand. The actual results showed data at the third that 62 bats injected with the North American strand aroused and 110 bats with the European strand aroused. Finally at interval 4 I had a total arousal of 80 bats injected with the North American strand and 110 bats injected with the European strand. The actual results yielded a total arousal of 62 bats at interval 4 and all the bats injected with the European P. destructans strand died.
3. Do the results support or reject the null hypothesis?  The results support the null hypothesis.
4. If the European P. destructans is causing WNS in North America, how come European bats aren’t dying from the same disease? This could be due to the environmental differences of North America as compared to Europe. It could also be due to metabolic differences in North American bats compared to European bats.