July 1st, 2009 · No Comments

“We know that WNS is now expected to move into caves in Tennessee and Kentucky… southern bats hibernate for a shorter duration and hopefully their immune systems will fight off the fungus. But as you know we have not been able to determine the cause and effect of WNS.”

In the Southern states officials are increasing their baseline monitoring. That’s all they can do.

And what about those states where White-Nose Syndrome hasn’t been found; what are they doing? In Oregon, Pat Ormsbee, a bat specialist with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management as well as a member of the Western Bat Working Group said, “We’re horrified. It’s a biological tragedy. We’re not just watching. There’s no reason to think WNS won’t spread to the West. We may luck out but it’s not a logical position to take.

“We’re undertaking a decontamination protocol similar to what’s being done in the East. As they’re doing there, we’re asking non-essential people to stay out of the caves until we know what is causing the fungus. Education is our most important step, such as making people aware of contamination in cave entry. We’ll never be better prepared than we are right now. It would be folly to think that it won’t get here.”

“It’s clear that threats like WNS have the potential to influence ecosystem functions in ways we currently do not understand,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Based on that statement, one can deduce that the decline of bat populations would likely have far-reaching ecological consequences. For example, bats migrate north into Canada and south to the mountains of Mexico, where they play a role as a consumer of insects and also serve as pollinators.

With experts unaware, for now, of the origins of WNS, they are unable to halt its spread.

One positive note, however: the National Zoo in Washington, DC is taking some species of bats and controlling their reproduction in the event of the worst case scenario: that WNS continues unchecked and wipes out one or more species of North American bat. As the bat goes so goes the Circle of Life.

All the experts say that there is no evidence to date to make us believe any other animals would be at risk, directly, from the syndrome. But states around the country are asking cavers, photographers and others who don’t have a specific reason for entering a bat cave to please stay away until the source (or sources) of WNS is found.

(Photo credit: Bats in trees by Clicktrick/dreamstime.com; small Indiana Bat by Andy King, US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

(Photo credit: Bats in trees by Clicktrick/dreamstime.com.)

Pages: 1 2