Posted by Mike B. on 2/01/08

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Unexplained "White Nose" Disease Killing Northeast Bats

ALBANY, New York, January 31, 2008 (ENS) - State
environmental officials and caving organizations are asking
people not to enter caves or mines with bats until further
notice to avoid the possible transfer of a mysterious new
bat disease from cave to cave.

Thousands of hibernating bats are dying in caves in New
York and Vermont from unknown causes, prompting an
investigation by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, DEC, as well as wildlife
agencies and researchers around the nation.

The most obvious symptom involved in the die-off is a white
fungus encircling the noses of some, but not all, of the
bats.

Bat with white nose syndrome (Photo courtesy West Virginia
Association for Cave Studies)
Called "white nose syndrome," the fungus is believed to be
associated with the problem, but it may not contribute to
the actual cause of death. It appears that the impacted
bats deplete their fat reserves months before they would
normally emerge from hibernation, and die as a result.

"What we've seen so far is unprecedented," said Alan Hicks,
DEC's bat specialist. "Most bat researchers would agree
that this is the gravest threat to bats they have ever
seen."

Last year, some 8,000 to 11,000 bats died at several
locations in New York, the largest die-off of bats due to
disease documented in North America. This year, an unknown
number of bats are at risk.

"We have bat researchers, laboratories and caving groups
across the country working to understand the cause of the
problem and ways to contain it," said Hicks. "Until we know
more, we are asking people to stay away from known bat
caves."

Craig Stihler, a bat specialist with the West Virginia
Department of Natural Resources, says, "The fungus has been
identified to the genus Fusarium, a common and widespread
genus usually associated with plants. Pathologists that
have examined the carcasses recovered from the New York
sites do not believe the fungus is the main culprit. One
guess at this time is that the fungus invades after the
bats are stressed by some other factor."

Bat biologists across the country are evaluating strategies
to monitor the presence of the disease and collect
specimens for laboratory analysis. Biologists are using
sanitary clothing and respirators when entering caves to
avoid spreading the disease in the process.

"Our primary concern is to limit the disease from spreading
further to other caves and mines that have larger numbers
of hibernating bats," said Scott Darling, Vermont state
wildlife biologist. "Here in Vermont, the disease has been
documented in Morris Cave in Danby, and we will be checking
other caves and mines."

Bat populations are particularly vulnerable during
hibernation as they congregate in large numbers in caves -
in clusters of 300 per square foot in some locations -
making them susceptible to disturbance or disease.

Because these bats then migrate as far as hundreds of miles
to their summer range, impacts to hibernating bats can have
significant implications for bats throughout the Northeast.

"Bats from a cave in Dorset, Vermont have been documented
traveling in the spring as far as Rhode Island and Cape
Cod," says Darling.

The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of bats
known to hibernate in New York do so in just five caves and
mines. Because bats migrate as far as hundreds of miles to
their summer range, impacts to hibernating bats can have
significant implications for bats throughout the Northeast.

Indiana bats, a state and federally endangered species, are
perhaps the most vulnerable. Half the estimated 52,000
Indiana bats that hibernate in New York are located in just
one former mine - a mine that is now infected with white
nose syndrome.

Eastern pipistrelle, northern long-eared and little brown
bats are also dying. Little brown bats, the most common
hibernating species in the state, have sustained the
largest number of deaths.

DEC has been working closely with the Vermont Fish and
Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Northeast Cave Conservancy and the National
Speleological Society, along with other researchers from
universities and other government agencies.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights
reserved.

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