White-Nose Syndrome Found to Have Severely Increased Bat Mortality Rates in North AmericaBack to "In The News"
January 25, 2012
A recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study has determined that between 5.7 and 6.7 million bats in North America have died from White-nose Syndrome since the disease was first detected in 2006 in a cave in New York State. “This news is a devastating blow to the ecology of the Eastern United States,” says Cardno JFNew wildlife biologist Jeremy Sheets.
Named for a white fungus that grows on muzzles of bats, White-nose syndrome affects many cave bats in eastern North America. This disease has been found to be migrating into the Midwest. As this disease moves west, it could have a significant impact on agricultural production.
“Bats eat insects, providing a natural pest control solution,” says Jeremy. “If we continue to lose species at this rate, American farmers will likely need to use more pesticides to control pests, resulting in increased food prices and chemical inputs into our food and environment.”
Another possible outcome, says Jeremy, is that “many more bat species will likely become state and federally protected, resulting in stronger bat habitat protection measures and stricter mitigation requirements for human impacts.”
Read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release.
Read Jeremy Sheet’s white paper on bat impact assessment techniques, which includes a discussion about White-nose syndrome.