TRA Grant Detail

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testing - grant site set to send grant applications to me. I know one application (at least) was submitted, but have not received it. hoping we are not losing applications to the ether....

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All funds will be used to process swab samples of cave walls. We have an additional 228 samples from 19 caves in Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia collected this past winter that we cannot currently process due to budget constraints. It costs $35.60US per sample for qPCR. Whatever you can contribute would be great to increase the geographic coverage of this project.

Managers of caves/mines, scientific community. Now that white-nose syndrome (WNS) is endemic throughout much of North America, discussions have shifted from cures and treatments to focus instead on how WNS will progress in the coming decades, and how best to support survivors and remnant populations. Such discussions generally assume Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) environmental reservoirs in hibernacula are pervasive and stable in Pd-endemic areas. Our data in eastern Canada suggests this may not be the case. Management actions targeted at reducing the environmental reservoir may not be the most efficient use of resources if the environmental reservoir has or will naturally decline. As conservation efforts shift from searching for treatments for the disease to supporting remnant populations, understanding the temporal dynamics of the pathogen environmental reservoir is crucial for evaluating the potential costs and benefits of various management actions. If the declines in the environmental reservoir that we observed in eastern Canada prove to be widespread, conservation resources (which are always limited) should be redirected to supporting populations during the active season or supporting hibernating bats directly, rather than directing efforts to reduce the environmental reservoir. To evaluate these scenarios, more information on the long-term persistence of Pd environmental reservoirs is needed over a broader geographic range, with a greater understanding of factors that may contribute to environmental persistence (i.e., the number or species composition of hibernating bats).

This project impacts cave stewardship and the protection of caves and their natural content. If bats are no longer being exposed to Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) environmental reservoirs in hibernacula in the Pd-endemic zone, then treatments designed to reduce those reservoirs should be carefully considered given the high likelihood of negative non-target effects on hibernacula ecosystems.

A publication. Our results may influence cave management plans and guidance.

We sampled sites in eastern North America in which Pseudogymnoascus destructans was first confirmed > 4 years ago to determine how prevalence and fungal loads have changed over time, and to assess if persistence is affected by bat species composition and surviving bat colony sizes in sites. This will inform whether bats are still being exposed to the fungus in such structures.

The project is largely completed, but we currently do not have the budget to process all our samples. We will submit the samples to the lab for processing as soon as we have the budget to do so. The lab usually takes a week or so to return results. I am hoping to complete the manuscript draft by the fall, or at least by the end of this year.

I recently published a paper showing the environmental reservoirs of the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in bats have dramatically decreased in eastern Canada since the disease first turned up there in 2011.
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.70149
We expanded the project across eastern North America (the endemic range of the fungus on the continent) to see if the same pattern has happened. This is important because if the fungus is naturally decreasing, attempts to decontaminate caves of the fungus with bleach or other chemical substances would be unnecessary, particularly given that these efforts have unknown effects on other cave fauna, especially other cave microbes. We started the project in 2023 and got great responses from local biologists willing to collect swabs of cave walls during their regular winter cave bat surveys. We received so many samples, we do not have the budget to process them all using the grant we received for that purpose (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Bats for the Future Fund, $97,400US, https://www.nfwf.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/nfwfbff-20231213-gs.pdf). To date we have processed (qPCR to detect the fungus) 648 samples from 49 caves in 12 states/provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New York, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We have an additional 228 samples from 19 caves in Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia that we cannot currently process due to budget constraints.

We received more than enough samples to complete our project, and analysis and writing are underway. Our preliminary results indicate the load and prevalence of P. destructans environmental reservoirs on walls in hibernacula have decreased compared to previous research done in the first seven years since the fungus was introduced to individual hibernacula in North America. Loads and prevalence of P. destructans environmental reservoirs on walls in hibernacula are not correlated with the number of bats or the bat species composition in sites.

We are still discussing which journal to submit our manuscript, but possibly Functional Ecology or Conservation Biology.
I have already given several presentations about this project, and likely will do more.
Vanderwolf, KJ, and LP McGuire. 2025. Environmental reservoirs of Pseudogymnoascus destructans decrease in the endemic phase in North America. Ontario Bat Network, March 28-29. Parry Sound, Ontario. oral
Vanderwolf, KJ. And LP McGuire. 2025. Environmental reservoirs of Pseudogymnoascus destructans decrease in the endemic phase in North America. Nova Scotia Invasive Species Forum. Feb 27. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Oral, online
Vanderwolf, KJ, and LP McGuire. 2024. Environmental reservoirs of Pseudogymnoascus destructans decrease in the endemic phase in North America. North American Society for Bat Research Conference, Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct 23-26. oral
Vanderwolf, KJ, H Broders, D McAlpine, and L McGuire. 2024. Environmental reservoirs of a wildlife pathogen (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) decrease in the endemic phase in North America. Joint Mycological Society of America and Canadian Fungal Network conference. June 9-12, Markham, Ontario, Canada.
Vanderwolf, KJ, H Broders, D McAlpine, and L McGuire. 2024. Environmental reservoirs of a wildlife pathogen (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) decrease in the endemic phase in North America. White-nose Syndrome Virtual Meeting. June 11-13.

To help purchase the items mentioned above....... we are really close to being operational.

All cave explorers with any degree of risk, including the public, NSS grottos and cave club members, etc.

To become a fully funded cave rescue organization which will save lives and mitigating suffering.

A well trained and operational cave rescue team.

We will be a well trained and operational cave rescue team.

We will be in-service by Summer 2025. Since last year we have incorporated (as an LLC), and grown in our financial situation. We have had two full-blown cave rescue drills and vertical rescue drills. We have an in-service dispatching application (I Am Responding).

We are struggling to raise the amount of money to pay for the insurance. Right now we HAVE liability insurance (Which is ~$4000/year) our medical will be about $3000/year. So the total insurance needs are about $7000/year. I am working very hard to get us affiliated with a fire department or rescue squad (like Blacksburg Cave Rescue is) so our medical/workers comp will be taken care of by tax money by being a part of their group. We are still borrowing NCRC equipment but need other items like hammer drills, bolts, rope, rigging gear, and other things. I am running raffles at VAR's, collecting donations at other cave events and am submitting other grant requests to NSS, Firehouse Subs, VRSAF ( https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/administration-finance/rsaf-grants-program/ ), Mission BBQ, and many more. If you need any more documents such as Articles of Incorporation, bank statements, etc. let me know and I will get them to you.

Getting in-service and responding to rescues.

A well trained and operational cave rescue team.

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The funding provided by this grant will fund the laboratory expenses required to complete the study. Materials requested for funding include two DNEasy Power Water DNA Extraction kits ($1,072 each).

This project serves a diverse group of "cavers" and "non-cavers," including the scientific community, the public, landowners, and many more. Because the field work required of this project occurs in Merritt's Mill Pond, accessible through the public Jackson County State Park area, community members and cave divers in the area have expressed interest in the nature of the project, how it effects them, and what they can do to assist. This provides an unique opportunity for myself and my fellow researchers to share our work with the public and educate the community on the purpose of our work. In addition, contributing non-invasive monitoring techniques to the scientific community and natural resource agencies alike is a main priority of this project.

Optimization of an eDNA detection assay will aid natural resource managers with a methodology to allow for continued, long-term monitoring of imperiled species in dangerous habitats, such as the Georgia Blind Cave Salamander. In addition, raising awareness to the diversity and presence of such an interesting creature in these cave environments is crucial in advocating for the protection of this vulnerable species.

As previously stated, the main outcome of this project is to provide an effective methodology for natural resource managers and scientists to detect and monitor the Georgia Blind Cave Salamander, as well as assess the ecological relationships of present animals in an environment that requires extensive training and monetary support to work in. In addition, the outcomes of this project will be made publicly available to community members, the caving community and government agencies. Several components of the project will be published in multiple scientific journals, including Conservation Biology, The Journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and others.

The objective of this study is to target the Georgia Blind Cave Salamander (Eurycea wallacei) in several historical sites in northwestern Florida to determine the feasibility of using environmental DNA (eDNA) assays to detect a species of low abundance using both passive and active sampling techniques, as well as conduct an ecological survey of other co-occurring metazoan species within the system.

This project began in August of 2023 and will continue into late summer of 2025 as the applicant's Master's Thesis at Southeastern Louisiana University under the advisement of Dr. Christopher Beachy and Dr. Kyle Piller. The project is broken down into these phases:
1. Preliminary method testing and species-specific primer and protocol development.
2. Cave-Diving certification
3. Field collection
4. Laboratory analysis
5. Next-Generation Sequencing
6. Data Analysis
7. Thesis defense, publication of findings

According to the project timeline phases, the following goals will be completed:
1. Preliminary method testing and species-specific primer and protocol development.
a. Species-specific methodology will be developed in the laboratory to ensure that
we can effectively detect the salamander in a captive colony of the species
before utilizing the techniques with field samples.
2. Cave-Diving certification
a. Due to the certifications required for the PI to enter the underwater cave
systems to collect water samples, Gretchen will complete her TDI Cave
certification in Summer 2025 prior to collecting any cave samples.
3. Field collection
a. 1500ml of water will be collected at three locations within each cave locality -
surface, cavern entrance, and within the cave. These three locations were
chosen to gauge the distance in which researchers must enter the system in
order to detect the salamander.
4. Laboratory analysis
a. Water samples will be filtered, followed by DNA extraction, PCR amplification,
visualization of successful DNA detection with gel electrophoresis, and
prepared to be sent to a third-party organization for next-generation
sequencing.
5. Next-Generation Sequencing
a. Amplified DNA samples will be sent to a third-party organization for
next-generation sequencing. This will sequence every strand of unique DNA
present in the sample.
6. Data Analysis
a. Sequence data will be statistically analyzed by the applicant. Bioinformatics
techniques will be used by the applicant to determine presence or absence of
Eurycea wallacei, as well as characterize the metazoan DNA present in each
sample.
7. Thesis defense, publication of findings
a. The culmination of this project will be presented and defended during the
applicant's public thesis defense. Any and all findings of the project will be
published through applicable scientific journals, as well as shared with the
community, government agencies, etc.

The determination of the validity of using environmental DNA to detect Eurycea wallacei could give us two answers - it worked, or it didn't work. Both answers are just as effective in determining next steps of monitoring the elusive species. If the assay was successful, this could be applied to many different rare species from a variety of different biomes. If the assay was ineffective in detecting the salamander, then we can pursue alternative monitoring techniques to ensure the protection of this salamander.

The culmination of this project will be presented and defended during the applicant's public thesis defense. Any and all findings of the project will be published through applicable scientific journals, as well as shared with the community, local government agencies, etc. Scientific journals we hope to publish the outcomes of this project in include NSS, Conservation Biology, The Journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and others.

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After thinking each day how to make cavers happy I will refresh myself at Starbucks

NSS

Cavers everywhere will rejoice

A bunch of rejoicing cavers

To make cavers happy

6 months

Each day I will think of something to make cavers happy and then hit Starbucks for a refreshment

I will ask cavers if they are happy

Will shout from the rooftops that cavers are rejoicing