Article 2
Topic: Animal Conservation
Author: James Gorman
Date: September 24, 2012
This article explains how a disease named White Nose Syndrome from a fungus called Geomyces Destructans killed many American bats. The disease was first spotted in New York in 2006 and it spread to New England and moved south through west. According to this article, more than five million bats has died. Since bats eat many insects, their absence will cause many farmers to pay billions of dollars for pesticides. Mr. Holliday and the Nature Conservancy decided to build an artificial cave for bats in Tennessee with a concrete bunker equipped with cameras and temperature monitor to battle the fungus.The cause of the disease is from a soil fungus that lives in cold temperatures of caves where bats hibernates. Many species of bats that do not hibernate were not affected because hibernating bats have lower metabolism and body temperature, making them vulnerable to the fungus. Researchers try to catch bats and examine them to figure out if any survivors are breeding and producing resistant offspring.
I decided to choose this article because it reflects the bats' vulnerability towards White Nose. Bats are normally considered unimportant creatures but this article made me realize how important they are and how we try to preserve their population. It pleases me to know that some people truly cares about their well-being, and I am impressed by their determination to save the remaining bats by building an artificial cave to battle the fungus that causes their deaths.
Author: James Gorman
Date: September 24, 2012
This article explains how a disease named White Nose Syndrome from a fungus called Geomyces Destructans killed many American bats. The disease was first spotted in New York in 2006 and it spread to New England and moved south through west. According to this article, more than five million bats has died. Since bats eat many insects, their absence will cause many farmers to pay billions of dollars for pesticides. Mr. Holliday and the Nature Conservancy decided to build an artificial cave for bats in Tennessee with a concrete bunker equipped with cameras and temperature monitor to battle the fungus.The cause of the disease is from a soil fungus that lives in cold temperatures of caves where bats hibernates. Many species of bats that do not hibernate were not affected because hibernating bats have lower metabolism and body temperature, making them vulnerable to the fungus. Researchers try to catch bats and examine them to figure out if any survivors are breeding and producing resistant offspring.
I decided to choose this article because it reflects the bats' vulnerability towards White Nose. Bats are normally considered unimportant creatures but this article made me realize how important they are and how we try to preserve their population. It pleases me to know that some people truly cares about their well-being, and I am impressed by their determination to save the remaining bats by building an artificial cave to battle the fungus that causes their deaths.