NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow Tom Ingersoll is collaborating with fellow bat enthusiasts to understand the cause of and predict the spread of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in bat populations. Since first discovered in a cave in upstate New York in 2006, WNS has killed an estimated one million bats in caves and mines in North America. New research predicts regional extinctions of the most common bat species, the little brown bat, within two decades due to WNS. Ingersoll is working on three models for the disease. The first is a theoretical dispersal model based largely on simulation, which will inform data collection and disease containment strategies. The second is a map showing calculated probabilities for future spread to help local managers plan for the inevitable arrival of the disease in their area. The final model is a dynamic occupancy model based on collected data that will be used to investigate the environmental covariates of WNS occurrence. Click here to read an interview with Ingersoll, who explains his research and how he became interested in the mighty bat.