Bat White-Nose syndrome is caused by a fungus-
Bat Disease Fungus Identified. By Henry Fountain. New York TImes.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
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This is interesting because the bat case parallels that found for toads and amphibians where recent deaths have been linked to a chytrid fungus. There is some debate as to why the toad fungus appears to be expanding its range (both north as well as in higher elevations) but global climate change has been implicated. Funny how small shifts in the environment can have dramatic effects.
Bats are another one of those animals that tend to freak people out. The myths and legends and probably just the way they look seem to intimidate some. Lots of people I know are scared to death of bats, mostly thinking that all of them are rabid. Personally I think they’re a neat animal and surely needed to keep the bugs under control. A bat will eat it’s own weight in insects every night, that’s a lot of mosquitos. I’m actually in the planning stages of making some bat houses for around my home and property. I have noticed the last few years that there seemed to be fewer bats flying around at dawn and dusk and I always wondered why, now I know. Thanks, hopefully they’ll make a comeback.
The die-off of native bats has spread across the Northesast, annd is under in-depth study in Vermont by the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences. My wife and I used to see bats hawking flying insects near our home in Northeastern Pa., but several years have gone by since our last sightings. Bat houses installed by the Pa. Dept. of Conervation and Natural Reources at one nearby state park remain unused some five years after their installation. Climate change most assuredly has some level of negative impact.