Data for: Changes in summer bat captures in the Black Hills, South Dakota, after white-nose syndrome invasion

Hibernating bat populations in North America are declining due to
white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has recently spread into
the northern Great Plains. First confirmed in South Dakota’s Black Hills
in 2018, WNS now threatens regional bat communities. To assess how western
bat populations respond to WNS, we analyzed mist-net survey data from two
phases: invasion (2017–2019) and establishment (2022–2024), comparing
capture rates across species. Four Myotis species declined by over 95%:
fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) and long-legged myotis (M. volans) by
96%, and the federally endangered northern myotis (M. septentrionalis) by
98%. In contrast, four less susceptible species saw capture rates increase
by over 200% during the establishment phase. Hoary bats (Lasiurus
cinereus), which are not susceptible to WNS, showed a more modest increase
(64%). These results suggest that WNS impacts in western bat populations
mirror eastern post-WNS population trends, and that some western species
(M. thysanodes and M. volans) are at high risk of disease-driven
extirpation. However, the marked increases in less susceptible species
indicate that non-disease drivers may be influencing bat populations in
western states, warranting independent study.