Biologists are fighting to reverse one of the most devastating population declines to afflict North America’s wildlife, and you just might have the solution.

Since 2007, a fungal disease has killed millions of bats in North America and has pushed some native bat species to the brink of extinction. The fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd for short), is spreading across the continent and invading the bats’ winter hideaways. Attacking the skin of hibernating bats and causing them to be more active than usual, the infection causes bats to burn up critical fat stores needed to sustain them through the winter.

A little brown bat with white-nose syndrome. USFWS

The resulting disease was dubbed white-nose syndrome for the “fuzz” that appeared on bats muzzles. It was first seen in a single, small cave in upstate New York in 2006. The disease has now been confirmed in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. At some Pd-infected sites, over 90% of bats have disappeared.

Most North American bats eat insects and are critical pest controllers. In the United States alone, bats are estimated to save farmers at least $3.7 billion per year in pest control services. A single bat can eat up to its own body weight in insects each night. Due to the drastic reduction in native bat populations, millions of additional insects are feeding on gardens, trees and crops, which can impact forestry, agriculture and even human health.

The response to white-nose syndrome began with international collaborations between federal, state and provincial agencies, tribes, universities, and non-governmental organizations. A widening variety of experts worked together in search of answers and solutions — field biologists, physiologists, wildlife disease specialists, geneticists, microbiologists. It would take three years before scientists confirmed that the fungus itself — never before known to science — was causing bat mortalities by disrupting their winter metabolism. Since 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided over $46M in funding to researchers, States, and partners to meet high priority needs for research and field support, all in an effort to improve our understanding of the disease and protect the bats in its path.