The University of Winnipeg

Craig Willis - Bats at Risk

Dr. Craig Willis, Associate Professor, Biology.

Bats at Risk; the Clock is Ticking

Dr. Craig Willis is an Associate Professor in Biology studying the ecology, behaviour, and physiology of wild mammals. He and his students conduct research about mammalian ecology and evolution, as well as applied conservation research that is important for understanding the impacts of climate change, industrial development, and habitat loss on wildlife. Recently the Willis lab has been part of the major international effort to understand a disease called White Nose Syndrome (WNS).

WNS was discovered in 2006; it has spread rapidly throughout eastern North America and recently into Ontario and Quebec. The disease is named for a white fungus (called Geomyces destructans) which grows on the exposed skin of the muzzles and wings of the bats. Little brown bats, one of the most common North American species, are the hardest hit. Current estimates predict local extinction for this species within 20 years of the arrival of WNS in an area. This is a crisis for bat conservation but also has wider consequences for ecosystems, forestry, and agriculture, given the role of bats as the primary consumers of night-flying insects. Recent estimates suggest that bats are worth billions of dollars annually for North American agriculture because of reduced crop damage and pesticide costs.

Dr. Willis and his collaborators have recently received nearly US $400,000 over two years from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These funds will support field and laboratory studies  to better understand precisely how Geomyces destructans is killing bats and to determine the potential for natural selection to help bat populations rebound from WNS in the future. Also involved in the research are Dr. Jens Franck from Biology at the UWinnipeg, two post-doctoral fellows in Dr. Willis’ group, Dr. Lisa Warnecke and Dr. James Turner, and international collaborators from Europe and the U.S.