White nose syndrome
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "White_nose_syndrome".

White nose syndrome is a poorly understood malady associated with the deaths of thousands of bats¹. The condition, named for a distinctive ring of fungal growth around the muzzles, and on the wings of many affected animals, was first identified in several caves near Albany, New York in January 2007² but has spread to other New York caves and into Vermont and Massachusetts in 2008³. The condition has been found in over 25 caves and mines mostly in the northeastern U.S.¹

Possible causes

One researcher suspects a cause of the syndrome may be bat flies and this possibility is being investigated. Bat flies are small parasites that live in a bat's hair and feed on its blood. They may be involved in transmission of a pathogen.⁴

A 2008 study determined that the fungus found on the muzzles, wings, and ears of infected bats is a member of the Geomyces genus.⁵⁶ It is not known if the fungus is a causative agent in the bat deaths.

The fungal growth may be an opportunistic infection, rather than the actual cause of the condition. A loss of winter fat stores⁷, pneumonia,⁸ and the disruption of hibernation and feeding cycles caused by warm and variable winter weather⁹ have all been suggested as causes or contributing factors.

Because no one yet knows how the condition spreads, cave management and preservation organizations have been requesting that cavers limit their activities and disinfect clothing and equipment that has been used in possibly infected caves.¹⁰ In some cases, access to caves is being closed entirely.⁹ Despite these efforts, the spread of the disease to Aeolus Cave, New England's largest hibernaculum, which has had limited human access since 2004, "complicates" the theory that human activity is directly contributing to the condition.¹¹ As of March 2008, the disease has spread to western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut. The migratory nature of bats also threatens to spread the malady throughout the northeastern United States.¹²

Impact

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation expert Alan Hicks has described the impact as "unprecedented" and "the gravest threat to bats ... ever seen."¹³ The mortality rate in some caves has exceeded 90 percent.¹⁴¹⁵ At greatest risk is the endangered Indiana bat, whose primary hibernaculum in New York has been affected.¹⁶ Deaths of eastern pipistrelles, northern long-eared myotis and little brown bats have also been attributed to the condition.¹⁷ The long-term impact of the reduction in bat populations may be an increase in insects, possibly even leading to crop damage or other economic impact in New England.¹⁴

Comparisons have been raised to colony collapse disorder, another poorly-understood phenomenon resulting in the abrupt disappearance of Western honey bee colonies.²¹⁸

References

External links

• Photos from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation