next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects
margin-bottom: Hi Pat, Earlier I think I posted notice of this talk at Dalhousie copied below and in fact went to it myself -- quite informative. This won't answer the questions about access, but here's some of the points Craig Willis made which may be of general interest to this list. He showed pics of him and his colleagues entering caves in white hazmat type suits, hoods and boots. They are concerned about tracking the fungus around, which has not (yet) reached places further west including his local area, Winipeg. The white-nose syndrome affects bats in Europe but the effects and mortality are much less severe there than here. DNA evidence indicates that the organism is effectively the same species in Europe and N. America (they gave it the same Latin name), with some differences. I took from this that the European infection has been around way longer there and the bat population there has developed some form of resistance, while the original US infection is very recent and may have come in somehow from Europe to non-resistant species here, much like the way that smallpox and other diseases decimated the native populations here who had no resistance, earlier. This fungus speicies is highly unusual in that it flourishes best in cold conditions and low humidity. Several bat species are at risk and may go extinct locally when it gets here. A colleague questioned why the immune system doesn't kick in to deal with the infection, and the reply was that the immune system apparently is completely shut off during the hibernation period. The infestation started in one bat cave in New York state and has gradually radiated out from there over several years and is now in places in the Maritimes (I forget where). This would fit with bats mixing between colonies and gradually carrying the fungus out to other caves, but this could also in principle be supplemented by cavers unwittingly spreading the infection on their boots -- he showed a pic of the floor of an affected cave thickly carpeted with dead bats, that presumably remain infective. Although the white nose is the conspicuous dermatological characteristic, the organism affects the bat's skin widely, and, particularly nastily, the wing membranes. The result is that the parts of the wing surface that sustain damage become less naturally waterproof so the bat loses body water via the wings during hibernation (water does condense as local droplets on the cave walls but the atmosphere where the bat hangs is very low humidity). The bat becomes seriously dehydrated and this is what causes it to eventually wake up in the winter and start flying around for a drink. This process becomes more frequent as the winter progresses, and this depletes the bat's energy reserves. The primary cause seems to be water loss, not electrolyte loss. If bats make it through the winter, the immune system presumably kicks in and they are less vulnerable for the period where they are active in the spring and later. There was other stuff -- you missed a good talk. I think Ian McLaren also attended and may be able to fill in the gaps. Steve (Halifax) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 3:30pm Fifth Floor Biology Lounge Life Sciences Centre (Biology Seminar) Craig Willis Department of Biology and Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research University of Winnipeg "From cutaneous infection to mass-scale starvation: Understanding white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quoting Patrick Kelly <patrick.kelly@dal.ca>: > Hi all: > There are several caves in the Windsor area (Frenchman's Cave and > the Woodville Cave) listed on a popular outdoor recreation site > that, while still giving general directions, have removed the exact > coordinates of the caves due to concerns over white-nose syndrome. > I know when reading about it recently that in New England, > researchers wear new "clean suits" for each cave so as not to > transfer the causative agent between caves. > > While I know that going into bat caves over the winter is never a > good idea as any disturbance to them during hibernation can reduce > their energy stores, i was not sure how much of an issue that was > here during the rest of the year, and whether the province may have > even imposed restrictions on bat caves in general. > > Comments? > Patrick Kelly
next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects