WINTER UPDATE
January 19, 2012
As we enter the depth of winter, we are all waiting to see to what extent White Nose Syndrome will continue to spread. Winter hibernacula surveys are only now gearing up, following the trend of the past two years of surveys later in winter. We've learned that early surveys don't always recognize when WNS has hit a colony, and research has shown that the major WNS mortalities don't occur until March.
In addition, repeated visits to check on bats only disturbs them more. This causes unnecessary arousal and the burning of precious stored fats that enable bats to survive the winter until food, in the form of insects, is again available in the spring.
Last winter, WNS was reported in new states (Maine, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky) and Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). However, Missouri and Oklahoma, where several bats were documented in 2010 as having the fungus Geomyces destructans present, but did not have WNS (that is, no other histological signs of the disease), were free of WNS in 2011. We won't know until later in the winter and early spring how WNS is progressing or slowing.
Since our last major update, there have been several major developments on the WNS front. In October, Geomyces destructans was formally identified as the cause of WNS in a paper by Lorch, et al, published in the October issue of Nature. While certainly no surprise to those working on WNS, it's a testament to the difficulty of working with this fungus and the steps necessary to prove infection according to Koch's postulates, and then the lengthy time frame for peer review and publication, that it took until now to be able to make the formal announcement.
At the October meeting of the North American Society for Bat Research in Toronto, Sebastian Puechemaille presented evolving work on the investigation of Geomyces destructans in Europe. It is widespread East to West, but not in the warmer Mediterranean region, suggesting hope for the American South. This was also mirrored by a presentation by Tom Hallam, modeling the dispersion of WNS in the U.S., which projected WNS spreading, but not in the South. Puechemaille's work also noted that there continue to be no known mortalities associated with the fungus in Europe. Bats start showing the fungus early winter and by the end are well-covered, but don't die. They also groom the fungus off during their normal winter arousal bouts. This work lends credence to the belief that the fungus originated in Europe.
More recent news stories reflect some research and field observations of surviving and even reproducing bats in WNS-affected states. This is also hopeful news for the conservation and possible eventual recovery of some hard-hit species.
On the subject of research funding, the NSS awarded several new grants over the fall, bringing our total NSS-funded projects to sixteen. We thank all of you who have donated to the fund, and welcome your contributions at any time. They continue to make a difference for WNS, and for the NSS.
Thanks largely to the efforts of Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, the federal budget compromise enacted just before the holidays includes $4 million dedicated to WNS, even through the overall Agency of Interior budget was cut. That reflects the growing Congressional interest and prioritization of WNS as an issue.
Sen. Leahy also sent a letter in December to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking that the Service update the long-standing statement that “more than a million” bats had died from WNS. On January 17, USFWS issued a press release announcing the new estimate of at least 5.7 million bat deaths due to WNS. The press release did not describe the methodology for the estimate, nor does it provide a state by state breakdown.
Perhaps more important than the raw number, however, is whether or not the spread of WNS is accelerating or slowing down. The USFWS release is silent on whether or not the majority of bat deaths occurred in the earlier years of WNS infection, or later. As we continue to examine the details behind the gross number, it will be important to understand these details to help guide intelligent research and management decisions and investments, and to evaluate the results of those decisions.
In closing, and on a personal note, the WNS world was stunned when long-time bat researcher, Tom Kunz, Director of Boston University's Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology, was seriously injured in a car accident in October. Tom continues a slow recovery, but his leadership in WNS research, affecting many students and colleagues, is sorely missed. We hope he will be back with us in the not-too-distant future.
Peter Youngbaer
NSS 16161 CM FE
NSS WNS Liaison |
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