Re: Bats are dying off by the thousands as they hibernate in caves

[Guest guest]

what? they have fungus around their noses and basicly starve to death

and they dont know the cause? lol's

I know,I know, pick me. hummm, wondering if real time would do

testing on dead bats for mycotoxins? anyone know?

>

>

>

> " The ailment †" named for the white circle of fungus found around

the noses

> of affected bats †" was first noticed last January in four caves

west of

> Albany "

> " The bat die-off has some eerie similarities with " colony collapse

> disorder, " the baffling affliction that began decimating honeybee

colonies years ago.

> Scientists last fall said they suspected a virus previously

unknown in the

> United States. "

> By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 30, 5:04 PM ET

>

>

> ALBANY, N.Y. - Bats are dying off by the thousands as they

hibernate in caves

> and mines around New York and Vermont, sending researchers

scrambling to

> find the cause of mysterious condition dubbed " white nose

syndrome. "

> The ailment †" named for the white circle of fungus found around

the noses of

> affected bats †" was first noticed last January in four caves

west of Albany.

> It has now spread to eight hibernation sites in the state and

another in

> Vermont.

> Alan Hicks, a bat specialist with New York's Department of

Environmental

> Conservation, called the quick-spreading disorder the " gravest

threat " to bats

> he had ever seen. Up to 11,000 bats were found dead last winter and

many more

> are showing signs illness this winter. One hard-hit cave went from

more than

> 15,000 bats two years ago to 1,500 now, he said.

> " We do not know what the cause is and we do not know how it was

spread,

> either from cave to cave, or bat to bat, " said Hicks. " You have

this potential

> for this huge spread. "

> The white fungus ring around bats' noses is a symptom, but not

necessarily

> the cause. For some unknown reason, the bats deplete their fat

reserves and die

> months before they would normally emerge from hibernation.

> New York and Vermont environmental officials are asking people not

to enter

> caves or mines with bats until researchers figure out how the

infection is

> spread. There is no evidence it is a threat to humans, but

officials want to

> take every precaution to avoid it spreading from cave to cave.

> Bats are considered particularly vulnerable when they hibernate, a

time when

> they can hang together tightly by the thousands. Indiana bats, a

federally

> endangered species, are considered particularly vulnerable, though

the highest

> death count has been among little brown bats.

> Researchers with Cornell University and the National Wildlife

Health Center

> in Madison, Wis., are among those helping state environmental

officials.

> The bat die-off has some eerie similarities with " colony collapse

disorder, "

> the baffling affliction that began decimating honeybee colonies

years ago.

> Scientists last fall said they suspected a virus previously

unknown in the

> United States.

> " I'm very concerned, " Hicks said. " I can only hope that what we're

seeing

> today will dissipate in the future. "

>

>

>

> **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in

shape.

> http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?

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>

>

>

[Guest guest]

" Bats are considered particularly vulnerable when they hibernate, a

time when

> they can hang together tightly by the thousands " LOL

there must be a fungus among us....

I know this is serious...just couldn't resist

[Guest guest]

Obviously dead bodies immediately start to rot and feed major levels

of fungi, bacteria. Many of which would produce

mycotoxins. When dead bodies 'ripen' for a while, they also emit major

amounts of VOCs..

so much that sometimes they explode. UGH..

But the fungal toxin composition of dead bat bodies after death would

not necessarily tell us much about the

environmental load on the bat before its death, except that the dead

bodies of members of a colony that had

collapsed, left to rot, might pose a very real threat to still healthy

members for the reason that they would get moldy.

Does that make sense?

On Jan 31, 2008 12:56 PM, who <jeaninem660@...> wrote:

>

>

> what? they have fungus around their noses and basicly starve to death

> and they dont know the cause? lol's

> I know,I know, pick me. hummm, wondering if real time would do

> testing on dead bats for mycotoxins? anyone know?

>

>