Going Batty
A mysterious fungus has infected more than a million bats in the United States. Nobody knows where it came from, how it kills, or how to stop it from killing entire colonies of bats.
White-nose syndrome, named for the color of the fungus and where it grows on infected bats, was first discovered in late 2008 in a cave in New York State. Since then it has spread north into Canada, south to Tennessee, and west to Oklahoma. Officials in fungus-free states want to learn how to prevent the spread of the disease. Unfortunately, "we don't have enough information about an actual disease to have management recommendations," says Sylvia Fallon, a senior scientist at NRDC, who works on the issue.
Losing more than a million bats could be devastating. Just a single brown bat -- the species hardest hit so far -- can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night. As more bats die, some researchers predict, insect populations will boom, and farmers will have to expand their use of pesticides.
Given the stakes, Fallon says, scientists urgently need additional funds for further research. Last year, with the help of senators Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, white-nose syndrome research received $1.6 million in federal support. But this year, no money has come through. NRDC is working with a coalition of wildlife experts and cavers to increase awareness and support for white-nose research.
