David Blehert and his research team captured 117 healthy bats to study in the laboratory and divided them into four groups. Group 1 was housed in an area free from Geomyces destructans. Group 2 was housed in an area that shared the same air as bats infected with WNS, but these bats did not have direct contact with the infected bats. Group 3 was housed in direct contact with other bats infected with WNS. Bats in group 4 were directly exposed to Geomyces destructans when it was applied to their wings. During the study period the bats were monitored for signs of WNS. In this experiment, the independent was and the dependent variable was . a) the type of exposure to Geomyces destructans; whether the bats became sick with WNS. b) whether the bats became sick with WNS; the type of exposure to Geomyces destructans. c) whether the bats became sick with WNS; the number of bats included in the study. d) the number of bats included in the study; the type of exposure to Geomyces destructans.