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Saving the “Less Glamorous Wildlife” at the next UT Science Forum

Little brown bats with white-nose syndrome, New YorkDr. Marcy J. Souza, DVM, MPH, assistant professor of biomedical and diagnostic sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will present “Epidemics of Less Glamorous Wildlife: What Can We Do to Stop Them?” at the next UT Science Forum Friday, March 7.

When people think of saving wildlife, they often think of charismatic mega-fauna such as elephants, rhinos, pandas and tigers.  But these types of animals only make up a small proportion of the animals that share our planet.

Two less glamorous types of animals, amphibians and bats, have been under attack from various threats, but fungal diseases may lead to extinction of some species. Chytrid fungus attacks the skin of amphibians and can lead to massive die-offs, although some species seem to be resistant to disease.  Similarly, white nose syndrome of bats has led to the death of between 5 and 7 million bats in North America and is still spreading. Dr. Souza will discuss these two major epidemics of wildlife and what interventions are being conducted worldwide and at UT to try to stop them.

The UT Science Forum begins at 12 p.m. in the Thompson Boling Arena Cafe, Rooms C-D. The 40-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. The UT Science Forum, presented by Quest, is free and open to the public.