White Nose Syndrome Page
A Project of the
Liaison on White-nose Syndrome
National Speleological Society
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B R E A K I N G N E W S |
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5/28/13: 5/9/13: 5/7/13:: 4/10/13:
4/8/13: 4/6/13: 4/1/13:
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Scientists Summarize WNS Research USGS Predicts Regional Extirpation of Indiana Bats CBD Appeals USFS Region 2 Cave Openings President Obama's proposed budget, released yesterday, has several proposed increases in WNS at Fern and Three Other SCCi Caves FWS Confirms WNS at Fern Cave, Alabama Florida Fish & Wildlife Asks Cavers to Decon (Not an April Fools Joke!) |
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WINTER UPDATE The 2013 White Nose Syndrome season unfortunately began with a bang with the first report of the year. Mammoth Cave National Park confirmed WNS in a Northern Long-eared bat (Myotis Septentrionalis). Other confirmations have quickly followed from Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Canada's Prince Edward Island reported likely WNS, and North Carolina reported bats flying on the winter landscape. Since first documented in 2006, WNS has now been confirmed in 19 states and 4 Canadian provinces. A 5th province is now likely, and the fungus Geomyces destructans, identified as the cause of the disease, has been confirmed on several bats in two other states. This early activity does not bode well for the rest of this winter and spring. White Nose Syndrome is a disease of hibernating bats, so naturally the hibernation season is when we expect any news. Winter hibernacula bat population surveys are now underway in most states, so reports – good and bad – will be coming in regularly over the next several months. One key indicator to watch this winter will be the status of the federally-endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Every two years, the major Indiana bat roosts are surveyed, and a good database of population status has been maintained by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Through 2011, the overall Indiana bat population actually continued to grow, despite being hard hit in New York. However, with WNS now established a couple years in other major I-bat states, such as Indiana and West Virginia, how those populations are doing will tell us a lot about the long-term sustainability of this species. Even though WNS isn't known to spread in the summer and fall, WNS research activities continue. The NSS' Journal of Cave and Karst Studies has just published a major research paper detailing the development of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife decon protocols, including much work done in Dr. Hazel Barton's lab. Another study published in December details work conducted primary by the U.S. Geological Survey lab on cave sediments in WNS affected caves and documents that the fungus Geomyces destructans can persist in the cave environment after bats have departed. In January 2013, the International Journal of Speleology published an excellent paper by Karen Vanderwolf of the New Brunswick Museum, et al, entitled, “A world review of fungi, yeasts, and slime molds in caves.” This study focused in part on Geomyces destructans, but put it in the context of all known research on fungi, helping the reader to understand the difficulties and limits of the current status of this research. While WNS has created a huge focus on Geomyces destructans, Vanderwolf writes, “It is interesting to note that although 132 of the 225 papers on cave mycology (58.7%) were conducted in Europe, G. destructans was not documented until it was targeted by researchers after WNS appeared in North America." This paper has much information on the distribution, behaviors, and other characteristics of fungi in caves that could have bearing on our responses to WNS. I strongly recommend it. All three of these published studies were funded in part by the NSS' WNS Rapid Response Fund. Thanks to the generosity of the caving community, your contributions have now provided twenty grants for critical and timely WNS research. Details are available under the WNS Research Center section on this page. We continue to offer funding and encourage researchers to apply here, and your donations are always welcome. In October, the North American Society for Bat Research held their annual Symposium, this year in Puerto Rico. As usual, numerous sessions were devoted to WNS. Abstracts of the papers can be found here. In January, the Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG) held its annual meeting, and WNS was front and center, as one would expect from the region most heavily impacted to date. Of high interest were the presentations on WNS survivors – caves and mines with populations that are showing slow growth – and the ongoing replacement of the Little Brown bats by Big Browns. Kate Miller presented a fascinating study of a significant Connecticut stream habitat showing not only Big Browns moving in as insect predators where Little Browns and Tricolored bats have been decimated, but also showing that fish are filling some of the void. Many of those presentations can be found here: http://www.nebwg.org/AnnualMeetings/2013/NEBWG13.html. Finally, things have also been somewhat active on the management front. Most notably, the NSS has worked steadily and collaboratively in the mountain West U.S. Forest Service Region 2 – Colorado and environs – to balance access to caves with the protection of bats. In December, we filed formal comments on the management plan and environmental assessment, and you can read them here. Other regional offices of federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico, have been meeting with and engaging cavers in local planning. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WNS National Plan groups have now all completed action plans, posted here: http://whitenosesyndrome.org/national-plan/white-nose-syndrome-national-plan. In closing, I want to make the observation that we all continue to learn about this disease as time goes on. There is a noticeable shift toward conservation in the responses to WNS, that is, trying to help surviving bats thrive by protecting significant hibernacula and avoiding disturbance during the winter. It's also now clear that the disease is spread primarily by bat to bat contact, and that blanket cave closures have been an ineffective, and even counter-productive strategy in preventing disease spread. Still, WNS shows little sign of abating, and this winter's population surveys will be telling. Please keep coming to this page for the most up-to-date information on WNS. Thank you. |
OTHER WNS LINKS |
 Click map for larger view
WNS ARCHIVES Photo credits: Top photo: Nancy Heaslip, NYDEC; "Species of Concern," NSS Print Salon HM by Jansen Cardy; WNS Occurance Map by Cal Butchkoski. |
WNS Liaison Report to the President/BOG NSS Response to USFS Region 2 Environmental Assessment (12/21/12) NSS Formal Comments on Draft National WNS Plan NSS Response to CBD Petitions (2/25/10) USFWS WNS Web site US Fish & Wildife Service WNS Page Bat Conservation International Bat Conservation and Management WNS Page DC Grotto WNS Page Mammoth Cave NP Issues WNS Plan Virginia Cave Board and DCR Karst Office (9/15/09) FAQ on WNS by MO Dept. of Conservation |
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