admin The Importance of Bats as Pollinators & The Disease that is Threatening Them
In our ecosystem we have pollinators of all types; bees, butterflies, wasps, and moths but many forget about bats. I am looking to educate others on the importance of bats in the United States, dispel myths surrounding them, and inform them about a disease that is threatening millions of bats called White-Nose Syndrome. I am from the midwest where the prevalence of this disease is much higher than on the West Coast, it is still important to educate about such issues as they threaten such an important animal to our environment. White-Nose Syndrome is a disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans. This fungus was brought over to The United States from Europe and started to spread in 2006 when it was first discovered in New York, and has been slowly moving its way West. As of 2019 there have been increasing cases of WNS found in California. This disease is so threatening to bat populations because it has the ability to kill 100% of a colony during hibernation. Bats in Europe are immune to WNS but the populations in the US do not have the same immunity. WNS is most often found in Little Brown Bats and will appear during their winter hibernation as a fuzzy white covering on their muzzle and lesions on their wings, and ears. The disease disturbs them and wakes them up during hibernation, leaving them to fly around and use up energy when there is little to no food available, leaving them to starve to death. Bats are one of our most important pollinators, over 300 species of fruit depend on them, so losing such a large amount so quickly can be detrimental to an ecosystem. I am also dispelling the myths about bats. For one, even though bats can carry rabies, most do not have it and the chance of a human contracting it is even smaller, there are only one to two cases a year of this happening. Displaying to others that rumors such as bats getting stuck in your hair, and bats only drinking blood are false can help show people that they can care about bats when they are commonly seen as gross or scary to some. I will display the importance of helping prevent the loss of these important animals, educating those who are unaware of the threat the WNS poses, and dispelling common negative myths surrounding bats.
Watch this video and give three detailed answers on why White-Nose Syndrome is so threatening to bat populations.
Optional Reading: Los Angeles Times article on White-Nose Syndrome and its arrival in California.
