Low Genetic Diversity In Little Brown Bats

Extinction are rarely caused by diseases because of genetic diversity within the population. Over time, some populations may evolve and grow a tolerance against the disease, prompting them to resist the disease and survive and reproduce. i. Other than WNS, a threat to the survival of the bat species, if the total number of bats becomes very small, is a decrease in fitness as there will be less protection among the population of little brown bats. A decrease in fitness means the little brown bats won't be able to defend themselves against predators as their group numbers are too small. In addition, during the colder season, these little brown bats won’t be able to generate enough heat among themselves, which can potentially lead to their deaths. Another threat to the survival of the bats is the lack of genetic diversity due to their small population size. Low genetic diversity in the populations can lead to a small gene pool, or the disease affecting one individual can also affect all members of the population. A small gene pool means the population …show more content…
Bat predators can only survive for so long once their preys are gone. As predators compete for their food source, in order to survive, they may also fight and kill their fellow population members, thus lowering the population size of predators. Another way of organisms being affected by the decline in bat population is a decrease in plants pollinated and dispersed by bats. Some organisms depend on those plants, and without bats pollinating the plants, those organisms wouldn’t be able to survive. With those organisms decreasing in numbers, the next trophic level wouldn't be able to survive either. Thus a decrease in bat population will lead to the deaths of other organisms, as they are depending on bats as their food