White Nose Disease Source May Be Fungus Itself - Researchers See Huge Bat Dieoff Potential

[hatrack]

After a series of provocative discoveries in recent months, scientists believe bats in the Northeast might be in greater peril from a mysterious sickness than originally thought. Researchers now think that a fuzzy white fungus found on thousands of dead and dying bats in New England and New York last winter might be the primary cause of the illness. Scientists have learned that the unidentified fungus seems to thrive in the cold temperatures found in caves and mines in winter - when bats are hibernating and most vulnerable.

As worrisome is that many bats continued to die this spring, dashing hopes that they would recuperate when they emerged from hibernation and resumed feeding. Hundreds of animals with scarred wings, both dead and alive, were discovered in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire through June. The wing damage can kill bats and likely was caused by the fungus, researchers say.

Biologists are also growing increasingly concerned that the fungus may be spreading to tens of thousands of healthy bats as the animals huddle together while sleeping in their summer roosts.

Humans are not believed to be at risk from the illness, but a large die-off would likely affect people indirectly. The nocturnal mammals eat enormous amounts of crop-infesting and human-biting insects, and scientists say they know so little about bats that their ecological importance may become apparent only once they disappear. "We could be at the beginning of something much uglier," said Paul Cryan, a bat specialist with the United States Geological Survey in Colorado. He said researchers are beginning to realize that even if they identify a definite cause, it may be too late for thousands of bats. "What do we do then? We are thinking ahead to the spread of it."

EDIT

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/07/28/wing_damage/

[TwilightGardener]

1. Poor things! We need bats. I have a bunch that fly around at twilight and eat bugs.

[Eurobabe]

2. Jesus, what are we doing to this planet, first the bees, now BATS??

:wtf: :wtf: :cry: :cry:

[Indenturedebtor]

3. It may not be us that's doing this

Hard to blame humans for an outbreak of bat disease :shrug:

[phantom power]

5. I can think of two straightforward ways we might be to blame...

(1) The spread of the fungus is the result of climate change and/or (2) The fungus is an invasive species, brought here by human activity. I'm not aware that either of those is confirmed, but my prediction is one or both were involved.

[Eurobabe]

7. That's what I was alluding to...

[DCKit]

14. How about the idea that other environmental stresses we cause....

may be making the bats susceptible to this infection?

Air pollution, chemical insecticides (which they are definitely ingesting in huge amounts) and climate change.

[woodsprite]

4. Hopefully, brown nose disease will have the same effect on the repub party. n/t

[stuntcat]

6. they're way more important than people think they are :(

I have three bat houses and I've been happy to see more bats every night lately than I have in years.
I am afraid for them though, I think a lot of people don't know why we need them.

[Muttocracy]

8. This story depressed me so much

These photos I saw a while back made me very sad about it too
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/science/25bats.html

[kestrel91316]

9. Is this fungus possibly an imported exotic species?

Or has Climate Change allowed it to move into a new habitat?

[Dead_Parrot]

11. Or immune systems weakened by pesticides?

Or all of the above?
:(

[kestrel91316]

12. We've been using pesticides for far too long for it to suddenly cause this, IMHO.

I really think the climate is to blame.

But I'm cheating. I studied fungi in college. And veterinary medicine, lol.

[Dead_Parrot]

13. I know...

...and I've got my "shut up and listen" hat on.

I guess all we do is wait for the bats to move to a 'safe' area. Or develop resistance. Or die.

Bugger.

[kestrel91316]

15. If we and the bats are lucky, a resistant population will

survive this infection and pass on their genes to the next generation. We can look at this as very heavy "selection pressure", which has always been a driving force behind evolution and will remain so.

But it's really hard to watch the process.......

[Fledermaus]

10. If this is true, then perhaps not all bats species will be effected the same.

I have a small colony of Mexican Freetails. They winter in Mexico and come north to Texas every Spring & Summer. Funny thing about Mexican Freetail is they like heat. If you want a colony of Mexican Freetails you have to select the correct color and placement to keep their house above 95F.

In addition, their large colonies produce so much fecal mater that cave temperatures will be above 95F from its decomposition. The ammonia levels in these caves are high enough to kill a human. My hope is this will provide some sort of protection from this fungus.