Some of you may have heard the news that white-nose syndrome in bats was recently documented in North Dakota. That is not good news.
The first documentation of white-nose syndrome in North America was in New York state in 2007. Where it came from and how it got here is still unknown. But we do know that it is spreading rapidly and decimating populations of bats, with some populations experiencing a 90% or greater mortality. I haven’t seen recent estimates on mortality rates, but is was estimated to have killed over 6 million bats by 2012. At present there is no cure for the disease, however, a few populations appear to be resistant.
White-nose syndrome is caused by a fungus that attacks the bare skin of hibernating bats. As the name implies, infected bats have a white fungal growth around the nose and snout, and perhaps the wings. Something about this fungal infection causes the bats to become active during their hibernating period. It is not known precisely how white-nose syndrome kills, but the increased activity may deplete the bats energy reserves before the hibernating period is over.
I suspect the public is rather ambivalent to saving bats. But perhaps it is time to rethink our views about these often persecuted and misunderstood mammals. Bats may be considered “keystone species” in some desert and tropical ecosystems. They also provide some important ecological services, such as pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal.
Bats are, for example voracious insect predators, and of course many of the insects they eat are pests. Here in the U.S. it has been estimated that bats may be saving us over $3.7 billion annually in reduced pesticide use and crop damage. And here is one for you…bats don’t dine on mosquitoes exclusively, but they can be a big prey item. And a bat can eat over 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in an hour.
Bats do some good work for us, and it is in our best interest that their populations be healthy and viable. So, the next time you see some bats flying overhead take a moment to consider the ecological services that bats provide.
~Chuck Lura
