WNS now found in FRANCE
reply posted on 2-1-2010 @ 10:29 AM by loam
According to the article, "White-nose Syndrome Fungus (Geomyces destructans) in Bat, France", (*.pdf) ...
...French bat found and described in the article, however, did not exhibit the typical weight loss characteristic of the disease and was found alive, examined and released.
...法國蝙蝠在文章中被發現和描述，但沒展示該疾病的典型減磅特徵和被發現還活著，檢查和釋放。
Genetic studies have shown that the fungus in France is the same as the one affecting bats in the northeastern United States. Ongoing studies are trying to determine whether the fungus is actually the whole cause of bat death, or if the fungus infection is only contracted by bats weakened by some other, perhaps primary, viral disease. Ongoing research is studying the validity of the following possible scenarios:
* The fungus and disease is new to Europe and therefore all bats in Europe are now at risk for infection, especially due to the fact that bats are known to migrate long distances--potentially spreading the disease rapidly.
* The fungus is not new, but European bats have been largely immune in the past.
* The disease is only a symptom
of a compromised immune system of bats weakened by some other, yet undetermined, pathogen.
Although only one bat in France was found with WNS as yet, scientists in both countries believe that they need to "understand, monitor, and control progression of white-nose syndrome."
Link.
The die-off of bats across the Northeastern states is now so severe that federal wildlife officials consider it "the most precipitous decline of North American wildlife caused by infectious disease in recorded history."
在美國東北部各州蝙蝠相繼死去的情况現在是非常嚴重(註：有人說以這個速度下去會在美洲絕種)，因而聯邦野生動物官員認為它是“有歷史記載中這是北美野生動物，被傳染病造成的最急劇下降。”
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread331035/pg3
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http://www.frengly.com/
蝙蝠相繼死去可能對生態系統和農業帶來持久影響
Bat die-off could have lasting impact on ecosystem, agriculture
Chris Torres, Lancaster Farming
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
EPHRATA, Pa. (Lancaster Farming) - Having read reports of dying bats in New York and New England, DeeAnn Reeder feared that Pennsylvania could be next on the radar.
Her fears were realized just before Christmas last year when she was conducting a survey of bats in an old, abandoned mine in the northern part of the state.
“My heart just sank. We knew we had it.”
She found hibernating bats covered in a mysterious white fungus and others on the ground, dead.
“It is a mystery, really.”
Since 2006, this mystery known as white-nose syndrome has been playing out in New York State and New England, where it is believed more than 1 million bats have died from the ailment.
Now it is in Pennsylvania, where it has spread to sites across the northcentral and northeastern part of the state.
With 4,000 mines and 1,000 known caves in the state, a major breakout here could be catastrophic.
The symptoms are puzzling. A mysterious white fungus, which has never before been identified, is showing up on seemingly healthy bats hibernating in caves and mines.
These same bats are emerging weeks earlier from their caves, looking for food and eventually dying of the cold weather.
But what is causing all of this? Is it the fungus itself? Are bats immune systems becoming more susceptible to disease, just like what has happened to bees with colony collapse disorder?
Researchers, like Reeder, still don’t know the answers.
What is known is that bats are some of the best insectivores out there. One small bat can consume its entire weight in insects during one night of feeding.
With the ailment now spreading to West Virginia and Indiana, it is feared that millions of bats could potentially die as a result, possibly leaving behind lasting effects on agriculture and the rest of the ecosystem.
What is the killer?
The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome was identified in the January issue of the journal Science. It is part of a genus of fungi known as Geomyces, which grow in cold temperatures and prefer damp conditions, the kind you would find in a cave or abandoned mine. Ideal temperatures range between 41 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
It has been given the scientific name Geomyces destructans.
The lead researcher of the published paper, David Blehert, a microbiologist at the U.S. Geological Service’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., said the fungus was identified after dead bat samples from all over New York and New England were sent in to the lab.
Unlike other types of Geomyces, this particular type of fungus has never before been identified, according to Blehert.
But reports have since surfaced of a similar type fungus being reported in Europe as far back as the 1980s on species of bats in that region. The only difference is that those bats did not die from it.
Bats don’t migrate from North America to Europe or vice versa, Blehert said, which leads him to believe the fungus was inadvertently introduced by a human or other animal into a cave.
His lab is working on identifying the genetic origin of the fungus and whether or not it is causing the deaths.
Blehert said many signs point to the fungus being the cause of the deaths.
“It certainly is not as common as viral infection, but fungi are very common pathogens of cold-blooded animals,” he said, pointing out that bats are both cold- and warm-blooded since they literally shut down their bodies to go into hibernation over winter and their body temperature decreases dramatically.
Connecting the dots
Along with the white fungus showing up on the noses and bodies of infected bats, many are leaving their hibernacula (hibernation area) several weeks before they are supposed to and are starving to death.
Reeder, assistant professor of biology at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., has been on the case of the mysterious white-nose syndrome ever since it first appeared in Pennsylvania in 2008.
“There is a lot we just don’t understand and the problem is we don’t know enough about bats,” Reeder said.
There are nine bat species in the state. Five have been found to be susceptible to white nose syndrome, including the little brown bat and the Indiana bat, which is classified as an “endangered species.”
Big brown bats, which Reeder said are known as the “farmer’s friend,” have not been impacted as much, which only adds to the mystery of the malady.
She has been testing the theory that if the fungus is not killing the bats, maybe it is leading the bats to starve to death during hibernation.
Healthy bats typically go into hibernation with enough body fat from their feeding season to hold them over until spring. They can get aroused every 15 to 20 days throughout the winter, she said, typically to get rid of waste.
Each time they get aroused, she said, they can lose up to two months of their stored body fat because their bodies warm back up, using a lot of energy to do it.
A test was done this past year at 13 sites in six states to see the arousal patterns of bats suspected to have white-nose syndrome. Data monitors were placed on 450 bats.
The results indicated that bats with the syndrome ended up being aroused every four to five days, which Reeder said indicates that the bats are being bothered to the point where they are waking up when they should be hibernating.
It could explain why she has received reports of bats flying outside of caves and mines in the middle of January and February, searching for food and eventually dying as a result of the cold weather.
Another factor that complicates things is the fact that these bats have been found with weakened immune systems.
One of the original hypotheses as to the cause of the deaths was possibly the bats being exposed to a plethora of chemicals like pesticides that over time weaken immune systems. But not enough evidence, she said, has been found to support this theory.
Mammal hibernators, she said, tend to have weakened immune systems because their body temperatures decrease during hibernation.
This winter, several caves are being monitored by infrared camera to see what behavior the bats exhibit when they are infected with white nose syndrome.
“It really is about connecting the dots at this point. You can clearly say that the arousal patterns are not normal,” she said. “So you have this fungus growing on you, so how does this translate into warming up?”
Impacts beyond deaths
Whatever the reason for their deaths, the impact bats have on the ecosystem is something that is coming to light as a result of their decline.
“Bats are the primary predators of nocturnal insects in the U.S.,” said Mike Gannon, professor of biology who studies bat ecology at Penn State Altoona. “As a result, they are a keystone species.”
In other areas of the world, such as the Caribbean and South America, Gannon said bats act as pollinators.
Here, they eat insects and a lot of them. They include insects such as the corn borer moth and cucumber beetle, two of the most invasive crop insects out there.
“Bats perform what we call an ‘eco service.’ (A bat) can eat up to 100 percent of its body weight when it is feeding,” Reeder said.
There are many published reports that try to quantify the value of bats on farms, but most of those reports focus on bats in other parts of the country, mainly Texas.
Still, it does give a glimpse into the value of bats on farms.
The Ecological Society of America in 2006 published a report on the value of Brazilian free-tailed bats on cotton fields in eight counties in Texas.
The report showed the value of the bats as a pest control is around $741,000 per year on average, with a range between $121,000 and $1.725 million. The value of the cotton harvest in these eight counties in southcentral Texas, the report states, ranges anywhere between $4.6 million and $6.4 million per year.
A 2000 report authored by Sheryl Ducummon for Bat Conservation International found the little brown bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in one hour.
The report also found a colony of 150 big brown bats can eat enough cucumber beetles in a given summer to protect farmers from 33 million of those beetle’s larvae.
A consensus statement released at the second White-Nose Syndrome Emergency Science Strategy Meeting held this past May in Texas states that the number of insects eaten by 1 million bats is equal to 694 tons.
Bats are particularly important in organic systems, where farmers are not only encouraged but required to provide a safe place for the critters to consume their food.
“There is a requirement that organic farmers must have biodiversity on their farms. So they have to provide or maintain housing for bats and birds,” said Leslie Zuck, executive director of the Pennsylvania Certified Organic Program. “It’s also part of the whole concept of having a good ecosystem. So organic farmers invite things that other farmers will not want to have.”
Bats are also a big player in integrated pest management (IPM) systems.
“A lot of the pests that we deal with are at least in part controlled by things in nature,” said Ed Rajotte, coordinator of the state’s IPM program at Penn State. “It is becoming more important as pesticides are becoming more restrictive and less broad spectrum than they used to be.”
Preventing the spread
With few answers as to why white nose syndrome is spreading and what is causing it, it has been difficult for researchers to come up with ideas as to how to stop it from spreading.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended closing all caves and mines to human access within 250 miles of an area affected with white-nose syndrome.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has a list of guidelines for reporting sick bats and for researches handling sick bats.
The U.S. Department of the Interior appropriations bill passed on Oct. 30 contained $1.9 million for research, monitoring and related activities to respond to white nose syndrome.
But is it enough? Given the number of bats that have already died, the long-term damage could already be done.
“When you do anything like this to the ecosystem, you will have ripple effects,” Reeder said. “It will cause a profound change.”
Chris Torres can be reached at ctorres.eph@lnpnews.com.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091223/GJLIFESTYLES/912219944
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