Data from: Multi-scale model of regional population decline in little brown bats due to white-nose syndrome

The introduced fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans is causing
decline of several species of bats in North America, with some even at
risk of extinction or extirpation. The severity of the epidemic of
white-nose syndrome caused by P. destructans has prompted investigation of
the transmission and virulence of infection at multiple scales, but
linking these scales is necessary to quantify the mechanisms of
transmission and assess population-scale declines. We build a model
connecting within-cave disease dynamics of little brown bats to regional
scale dispersal, reproduction, and disease spread, including multiple
plausible mechanisms of transmission. We parameterize the model using the
approach of plausible parameter sets, by comparing stochastic simulation
results to statistical probes from empirical data on within-cave
prevalence and survival, as well as between-cave spread across a region.
Our results are consistent with frequency-dependent transmission between
bats, support an important role of environmental transmission, and show
very little effect of dispersal among colonies on metapopulation survival.
The model also offers a generalizable method to assess hypotheses about
cave-to-cave transmission and to identify gaps in knowledge about key
processes, and could be expanded to include additional mechanisms or bat
species as research on this detrimental fungus progresses.