ComBATTING White Nose Syndrome

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-04/D9TTFHG00.htm

A relatively new fungus that causes disease in bats is called white nose syndrome.  It was first discovered in 2006 west of Albany, NY.  In 6 short years, the disease has been documented to have spread to the South, and as far west as Missouri.  The fungus affects a few healthy bats, and then the bats spread the disease throughout their colony.  The fungus prompts the bats to wake up from their winter hibernation, and then they die as they fly into the cold air searching for food.  Why is this important?  Well, bats are our front line defense against many night flying insect pests including moths, beetles, and mosquitoes, many of which are crop pests.  It is said that bats provide approximately $22 billion annually in pest control because of all the pests they consume.  They eat tons of insects, estimated to be 540 tons per year by gray bats alone.  What is at stake is an exponential loss in beneficial ecological services from the bats.  With a monetary value in services that high tagged to the bats, more intensive and thorough research must, and probably will be conducted to better understand how to combat this issue with white nose syndrome.