But if the syndrome spreads primarily from bat to bat—as seems the case—closures will have little effect. Unless more answers appear soon, draconian measures such as killing all the bats in infected caves may be all that can keep the spread of WNS from rewriting the ecological rules.
A Bat Disease That’s Bad News for Humans, Too
People could soon feel the devastating effects of white nose syndrome (WNS) among bats. The most immediate change may be the number of mosquito bites people get this summer. According to Greg Turner of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, a bat may consume as much as its own weight in insects each night, including mosquitoes. Bat guru Merlin D. Tuttle, who founded Bat Conservation International, notes that bats are the primary predators of pests that “cost American farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually.” If WNS spreads to the American South and West, it could also lead to huge losses of crops pollinated by bats. As Turner points out, bats are major pollinators of plantains and avocados and are the sole pollinators of the agave plant; margarita cocktail lovers owe the tequila in their drink to the activities of bats.
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Night Stalker."
This article was originally published with the title Night Stalker.
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8 Comments
Add CommentVery interesting article. While it is very unfortunate this event is occurring could it be just nature taking its natural course of ebb and flow or could this be the direct result of mankinds attempt to eliminate germs all the while backfiring. There is already great concern regarding the impact of mass commercial introduction of anti-bacterial products into main consumption and their impact on the environment. While further study is needed to determine the exact cause here is something to chew on&could this be the result of the anti-bacterial solutions getting into the ground water where insects are born. The insects would be immune but carriers of a stronger stain of fungi. The bat would be exposed when devouring its nightly meal. Or could it be due to anti-bacterial tainted water seeping down into the caves where insects and bats live where it originally killed off the majority of the fungi only to create a stronger strain? Good luck Marvin.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisD. Forsell
interesting theory D. ...a good example of this is my habit of gargling with hydrogen pyroxide; this friend who is a dental assistant in Stockholm was visiting and told me they were taught in school that there is a risk to this as it kills off ALL the bacteria in the mouth and leaves it open to fungal attack, which would represent in the form of white blotches, which i have noticed at times throughout the years....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisso now i'll just spot-treat parts of my gums that need some attention...or just gargle part of my mouth lol
it's interesting, one is hard-pressed to find ANY HO2 at all in Sweden...but i'm glad i can get it here
i wonder if some people have over-used it to the extent they get constant fungal attacks that could cause asthma etc...hmmmm
rockjohny: I think you are referring to H2O2, hydrogen peroxide. I also think that it's bad practice to use too 'heavy' disinfectants, because that drives pathogens towards nastier types.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe information currently available on WNS seems to imply that it is an invasive fungus. Geomyces are rarely pathogens, but this one seems very similar to one in Europe. European bats seem to get the disease but appear to be resistant to it. Like the chytrid fungus that is wiping out amphibians in Central America and Australia, I think it is a good guess that this pathogen developed on another continent and humans have inadvertantly imported it. The people working on the issue suspect cavers as being the vector (dirty shoes), but given a point of origin in Euoropean caves, perhaps we should look at the cheesemaking industry -- they use European microflora from caves.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissounds like a reasonable hypothesis. perhaps another direction to focus in is on the massive injection of pesticides to control mosquitoes and west nile virus. i wanted so much to speak out, but there was so much hysteria, that no one was listening.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswe're seeing 'colony collapse' in bees as well, likely for similar reasons (and other pathogens involved there too).
we need to learn to support our food and ecological services webs - and seems we'll have to learn the hard way, 'cause roundup and DEET are still for sale and in use everywhere.
I was thinking that about 5 years ago the natural gas companys came up with a way to go down and over to get natural gas out.A lot more leases and buys on land at high dollars have been made right in the area these bats are being infected. Could this make a difference.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was thinking that about 5 years ago the natural gas companys came up with a way to go down and over to get natural gas out.A lot more leases and buys on land at high dollars have been made right in the area these bats are being infected. Could this make a difference.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt might sound like it is just population dynamics at work...however it is thought that the fungus was introduced from Europe. http://crittercatchersinc.com/critters/bats/White_Nose_Syndrome_Michigan.html
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