White Nose Syndrome: Cause confirmed

[Amy]

Just came out in Nature...
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111026/full/news.2011.613.html

Basically, yup GD is causing the WNS.
Interesting, it is by direct contact (bats kept 1.3cm appart from WNS bats did NOT get WNS, there had to be contact to transfer).

 

[droid]

Here's the Beeb's take on this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15460894

 

[Big Jim]

Interesting, it is by direct contact (bats kept 1.3cm appart from WNS bats did NOT get WNS, there had to be contact to transfer).

Possibly why we havent seen it UK yet as most our resident species dont form large cluster in hibernation apart from the Rhinolophidae sp'.  Still worth being vigilant though and reporting anything that looks like WNS to the Bat Conservation Trust (or a bat worker that caves).

J

 

[Amy]

I don't have the article availalbe right now, but there was already a study done that GD is prevalent throughout Europe, but without signs of WNS.

Brings an interesting question of why? Two current theories of WNS here are that it depends on the bat's size, and temperatures of the region. eg. it's not really spreading south that well, most of the deaths are in the northeast where it is cold, long winters, long hibernations. Bats getting hit the hardest are generally the smaller species, like Little Browns.

From my understanding, your bats are much larger than ours. Perhaps size difference is a factor.

Another theory is that your bats are just used to it, evolved together type thing, whereas here it is new, our bats never exposed to it.

Interesting things to think about.

 

[robjones]

From my understanding, your bats are much larger than ours. Perhaps size difference is a factor.

I thought everything was bigger in America!

 

[Alex]

Forgive me but what is GD?

Should I be shooting ducks that appear camp?

 

[Les W]

Forgive me but what is GD?

Geomyces Destructans

http://cavingnews.com/20111027-study-proves-geomyces-destructans-causes-white-nose-syndrome

 

[barrabus]

Geomyces destructans.

From the link supplied above...

"The fungus, Geomyces destructans, infects the skin of hibernating bats, causing lesions on the animals' wings and a fluffy white outgrowth on the muzzle. When white-nose syndrome takes hold of a hibernating colony, more than 90% of the bats can die.

 

[barrabus]

You beat me to it Les...

 

[Les W]

You beat me to it Les...

 

[Amy]

Here is the one about GD in Europe. Apparently it can cause the white nose coloration but no deaths/illness in the species sampled from Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland. So there ya go....
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/8/10-0002_article.htm