White Nose Now Confirmed In 16 States, Two Provinces - 9 Species Vulnerable To Infection

[hatrack]

With new discoveries of white nose syndrome, the mysterious bat disease, in Indiana and North Carolina, the scourge has now been documented in 16 states and two Canadian provinces, from New Hampshire to Oklahoma, according to the accounting of the Center for Biological Diversity.

This follows recent news that in New York, where the disease was first discovered in 2006, several bat species have vanished completely from caves and mines where they were once abundant; and that the little brown bat, once the most common species in the Northeast, could disappear from the region if not protected by the Endangered Species Act (or more directly, if a way to stop the spread of white nose syndrome isn't found).

At least 9 species diagnosed with white nose syndrome are endangered bats at risk of extinction from the disease. Already, that die-off has resulted in 700 fewer tons of insects consumed by the insectivorous bats, according to one study. That, in turn, could spur more farmers to use more toxic pesticides, since several bat species eat agricultural pests.

Ed. - Yay! A bonus!!


What causes the disease, which is marked by a ring of white fungus around the bats' noses? Is it a change in the environment? A virus? A chemical poison?

EDIT

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/white-nose-syndrome-map

[pscot]

1. And timely too

As warming moves northward the bugs will proliferate just as whitenose removes a key predator.

[stuntcat]

2. k

k, r, and dittos ^,^^

[truebrit71]

3. Wait, this isn't a thread about Charlie Sheen?

:evilgrin: