Something is killing thousands of bats in Northeastern caves

In 2007, some 8,000 to 11,000 bats died in several New York caves, more than half the wintering bat population in those caves. Cavers first noticed large numbers of dead bats around the mouth of one cave and reported it to wildlife officials. Many of the dead bats had a white ring of fungus around their nose. This year, biologists are seeing the white fungus on bats hibernating in New York, Connecticut, southwest Vermont and western Massachusetts. Little brown bats are sustaining the largest number of deaths, as well as northern long-eared, eastern pipistrelle and other bat species using the same caves. The federally endangered Indiana bat has also been found dead in significant numbers. White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a condition associated with high bat mortality in the northeastern United States. Affected hibernating bats in the region have a white fungal growth on their ears, wings or nose. Unfortunately, about 90% of the bats affected parish due to starvation.

The bats with this white–nose syndrome have a white fungus on their noses and occasionally other parts of their bodies. It is unknown if the fungus is causing the deaths or is symptomatic of a disease. Dead bats with the “white nose” appear to have exhausted their fat reserves. There is no information indicating that people have been affected after exposure to the white fungus.

The State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating the geographical extent of the outbreak in New York and has provided carcasses to several laboratories for analysis to help determine the cause of bat deaths. The bat conservation community is concerned and involved in exploring the possible cause of the disease.

Cavers are coordinating with state biologists to help assess the situation. The focus is first on identifying the cause of the outbreak and the deaths, and second on learning how it spreads. It is possible that a caver may have unintentionally introduced the fungus into the Albany, NY cave.

This is a great 9 minute video explaining the White-Nosed Syndrome: http://www.vimeo.com/4894773

Environmental impacts:

Bats are the primary predators of night-flying insects. They eat large numbers of moths and beetles. Insect-eating bats are crucial to a healthy ecosystem. Large numbers of bats dying could mean that the natural balance would be thrown off for many years to come.

What can you do to help?

You should not handle bats. If you come across live or dead bats with white-nose syndrome, contact your state wildlife agency or a nearby U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office. Cavers are asked to continue to observe all cave closures and advisories, and to avoid caves or passages of caves containing large hibernating populations of any bat species.

What is OBC doing?

See a video of Rob Mies (OBC co-director) on Fox News discussing the white-nose syndrome

OBC is staying on top of the news and keeping in contact with researchers studying the white nose syndrome. OBC has also donated emergency funds to help study this potentially devastating development. We have dedicated funds to support researching the fungus, providing roosting alternatives, and enhancing communication among researchers, agencies, environmental organizations, and the general public.

OBC donated $1,000 toward an experimental freezer that is being used to study this new cold-loving fungus at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin. David S. Blehert from the center presented information at the North American Symposium on Bat Research that confirmed 90% of bats submitted from the WNS-positive sites exhibited the fungal infection. The fungus is a newly described species similar to Geomyces species. Fungal cultures grew optimally between 41 degree Fahrenheit (5 degree Celsius) and 50 degree Fahrenheit (10 degree Celsius). These temperatures are similar to the conditions in caves and mines that bats prefer to hibernate within the WNS-affected region. Blehert reported that the upper growth limit for the fungus is approximately 71 degree Fahrenheit (21 degree Celsius).

OBC also donated 6 bat houses toward a joint study by the Indiana State University Center for Bat Research and Conservation and University of Winnipeg. The researchers wanting to find out if providing bats with artificial thermal roost boxes within the WNS-affected caves could slow energy expenditure during the periodic arousals and prolong survival. They demonstrated the potential survival benefits using computer simulation and showed that localized thermal bat roosts reduce mortality from over 80% to less than 25%. A test site in Manitoba, Canada that is used by approximately 400 little brown bats has been chosen. 6 (six) OBC bat houses were retrofitted with thermal heating elements and installed last month. The study will help determine the capability of bats to find and utilize the thermal boxes. If successful, the boxes could be tested in WNS-affected caves next winter.

In addition to funding research, OBC staff is participating in information-sharing meetings of the Michigan Bat Working Group and Midwest Bat Working Group.

If you would like to donate to this fund, please send your donation to the following:

Organization for Bat Conservation
@ Cranbrook Institute of Science
c/o White-nose Syndrome Research
39221 Woodward Ave.; PO Box 801
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303

More information:

The Battle for Bats: White Nose Syndrome: http://www.vimeo.com/4894773

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html

Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3hKHoeRQE

http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/search?q=White+Nose+Syndrome