A Greenfield native is researching a snake fungal disease that could threaten the ecosystem's balance

A University of Wisconsin-Platteville student from Greenfield will have the opportunity next month to present her research on a snake fungal disease that could threaten the balance of the ecosystem in Madison.

Sarah Bauer and her fellow student researcher Allison Sheldon, both seniors at UW-Platteville, have been researching the effects of the disease. Their work will be on display at the annual Research in the Rotunda event in Madison on March 11.

Bauer, who is a biology major with a zoology emphasis, said the disease is characterized by crusty scales, opaque eyes, abnormal shedding and early emergence from burrows.

"People will compare it to chytrid fungus or white-nose syndrome in bats, but there's not a lot known about it," Bauer said. "Some people — they think it's super deadly, but it could also just be like athlete's foot or maybe it's not that deadly. Maybe they can get rid of it, but again, we don't know that much. That's the scary part right now is the unknown. That's why we need to keep doing research."

Bauer said snakes are extremely beneficial to the ecosystem.

"I hear people (say) all the time 'Oh I'm so scared of snakes', but then I ask them 'How do you feel about your house being overrun with rodents?' and they're like 'well that sounds terrible'. I'm like 'That's what would happen if our snake population diminishes," Bauer said, "because we don't know the effects of snake fungal disease. That could be something that happens is we lose our snake population if this is indeed something very bad. In turn, that could bring back diseases like the plague."

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the disease has been found in 11 of 21 of Wisconsin's snake species. The disease is also relatively recent, having only been first reported in New England in 2006 and Illinois in 2008 respectively.

The research

Bauer said she wasn't interested in snakes at all until the end of her freshman year and the beginning of her sophomore year of college. She said she was terrified of snakes initially, but then she and her dad ended up getting a ball python and now own five snakes.

Bauer learned of the research through the university's biology club and asked if she could join in.

The experiments consist of using artificial cover boards, which Bauer said is a safe and effective method of capturing snakes. She said the boards simulate brush, leaf litter, logs and other things that snakes use for heat.

"We take data regarding their health, their weight, length, and then we swab them for the disease, take pictures, things like that," Bauer said.

Bauer said she usually was out in the field twice a week and took over as project lead her junior year. She said she also spent 10 or more hours working on data, smoothing out some of the things that were collected, and sorting out the swabs, among other things.

This year, both Bauer and Sheldon are working on their senior theses, and are taking the results from the research and turning them into a paper. Both Bauer and Sheldon did the field work together, but Bauer is looking at data from 2018, where swabs from snakes were tested in a lab, and Sheldon is looking at abnormalities from 2019 swabs from snakes, of which there was not funding available to get them tested, Bauer said.

John Peterson, a UW-Platteville associate professor of biology who has been advising Bauer and Sheldon, said that both really got into the project and have been great to work with. He said the project has been going on since the spring of 2018.

He was also excited to see them both have the opportunity to present their research in Madison.

"The UW System has prioritized undergraduate research as one of its major goals for pushing in the coming years. I'm so glad that they're doing that because it can completely change the life of a student. As far as transitioning to a job on the other side, nothing is better than doing research," Peterson said.

For Bauer, the opportunity to present at Research in the Rotunda is exciting.

"That's probably the most exciting for me because we get to go to the state capitol and talk to representatives. It's a bigger platform where hopefully I can get people to know more about this disease and let them know that this is something important, as well as let them know how important this research is to me as a student, how important independent research for students is in general, how important that opportunity to study it is."

Sheldon was also excited for the opportunity, as she hopes that by presenting the research, it will bring public awareness that something is affecting snake populations all over the country.

"Although we don't yet know the severity of this disease, it is still good to bring awareness towards the issue and it can also show that snakes aren't as scary as some think they are," Sheldon said.

After she graduates, Bauer said she is open to anything animal-related and that involves research. Sheldon said she is planning to attend graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and be part of the school's environmental conservation program.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.