Women in Science: Michelle Verant

Michelle Verant advocates for bats.

Photo by Julie West / NPS

by Ariana Bulatovich

Michelle Verant is a wildlife veterinarian for the National Park Service under the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate (NRSS) in Fort Collins, Colorado. NRSS is a national office, and provides scientific, technical, and administrative support to national parks for the management of natural resources. Michelle looks at wildlife health and ways the public can help wildlife in the national parks. She has taken a particular interest in bats.

Michelle collecting a swab sample from the wing of a little brown bat to test for the presence of the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome as part of her PhD research.

Photo by Heather Kaarakka, WDNR

Since 2006, White Nose Syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats, has spread throughout the United States and Canada. In some bat colonies, 95% of the population has declined due to WNS. The disease affects hibernating species in cold environments. In North America the northern long-eared bat, little brown bat, and tricolored bat are among the species that have been hit the hardest. People cannot get sick from WNS, however Michelle stresses that people CAN potentially spread the disease by entering caves where these bat populations live, and accidentally carrying the fungus to other locations (and potentially other bats) on their shoes or clothing. Because bats can be hard to find, people exploring national parks can help biologists identify when and where WNS may be causing harm to bats. She reminds us that, “If you see a bat dying or on the ground, do not touch the bat, but tell a ranger immediately.”

Bats eat insects and thus provide natural pest control. There are over forty species of bats in the United States, and more than one thousand species worldwide. Bats are the only flying mammal, and are extremely adaptable. Some bats are native to the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Some have even been found above the arctic circle! Michelle points out that there are many benefits from bats, including pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal to name a few. She says, “It would be a sad day if bats disappeared.”

Michelle Verant examines the teeth of a wolf before it is transported to Isle Royale National Park.

Photo by National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation

One of Michelle’s favorite parts of her job is when she gets to go out into the field and work alongside other biologists and wild animals themselves. In 2018 and 2019, she assisted in a project to re-establish the predator-prey relationship of wolves and moose at Isle Royale National Park, an archipelago in Lake Superior. The relationship between wolves and moose has a direct impact on the populations of both species, on the island’s vegetation, and the other wildlife species that rely on that vegetation. The wolves help to regulate the moose population by preying on the ill, old, and young. If there is a healthy moose population, the wolves have plenty of food in the winter. If there are too few wolves, the moose population becomes too high and the vegetation becomes over-browsed, leaving less food and shelter for other animals who rely on it. Unfortunately, the wolf population dwindled to a mere two wolves in 2016. In 2018 the National Park Service decided to restore wolf predation on Isle Royale. Over the span of two years, Michelle helped a large team of park staff and partners capture nineteen gray wolves from Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Canada, examine them to determine their health status and suitability for translocation, and bring them to Isle Royale. It was quite an exciting project!

At seven years old, Michelle knew she wanted to work with animals, but she never knew she would be working with moose, wolves, and bats! Growing up, she loved biology. Michelle says, “Biology just made sense.” At nine years old, she was hunting with her dad, and he became a role model for her. He was a physician who loved wildlife and the outdoors. Michelle was able to shadow him, and through him she learned that she wanted to help animals like he helped humans.

While in veterinary school, Michelle joined Envirovet. This program inspires veterinarians to become integral members of teams that protect animals, humans and ecosystem health in the one world everyone shares. Through this program Michelle learned that human and wildlife health is all connected. If there are diseases in wildlife, these diseases will cross paths into the health of humans. “It’s all connected. Healthy wildlife means healthy people.” Michelle says.

Throughout her career Michelle was given the opportunity to be heard. Her senior partners listened and valued her thoughts and opinions, which in turn made it easy for Michelle to work with everyone. She has continued to thrive in her career, and hopes future women in science do the same. Michelle tells future women scientists to have, “courage to try new things.” She reminds everyone to have confidence in themselves, “Everyone fails and that’s okay, but if you want to succeed you need to keep trying and asking questions.”

In the words of Brandon Seitz, a resource specialist at Grand Portage National Monument, Michelle Verant and her colleague Tiffany Wolf (with the Minnesota DNR), “exercised some of the most heroic veterinary measures I have heard of”. Michelle truly is an outstanding woman in science.