Little Brown Bat Extinction Predicted

You may have heard of the disease White-nose Syndrome that is responsible for the deaths of over a million bats since 2006. A new study from scientists at Boston University predicts the little brown myotis to go extinct across eastern North America within the next 20 years.

Not a big deal? Typically referred to as little brown bat, the little brown myotis is one of the most common bat species in North America. If this species with high population counts can go extinct that quickly, how many other rare or endangered species will also go extinct along the way? Federally endangered species including the Indiana and gray bat are already dying from WNS.

Bat Conservation International describes White-nose Syndrome as a fungus able to grow on the nose, ears and wings of bats during the cold winter months of hibernation. Bats inflicted with this fungus wake up more frequently, causing them to use up their fat stores. The bats then die from starvation or freeze. Caves infected with WNS can result in 100 percent mortality rates.

Why should we care about bats? As Sarah Parsons mentioned in her recent Change.org article Ensuring Food Security Means Protecting Bats, bats are a welcome site for agricultural farmers. Since bats primarily consume insects, crops are protected from ruin with significantly less use of pesticides. As consumers, we all stand to benefit from this.

Bats also like to dine on mosquito, which is why I enjoy having them live close to my house. We know all too well that mosquitoes transmit diseases like malaria and West Nile virus. And don’t forget about heartworm, a nasty disease carried by mosquitoes that infects close to 300,000 dogs annually. Cats and ferrets are also susceptible. With the state of the current economy, more pet owners are reducing their bills by skipping heartworm treatments, leaving millions of pets vulnerable to contracting the disease. It goes to follow that a decrease in bats, leads to an increase in mosquitoes, leads to an increase in risk for heartworm.

Some experts are even considering using zoos as a way to conserve bat species, as Stephanie Feldstein recently wrote in Are Zoos the Last Hope for Bats? on Change.org. I would rather see bats in the woods and caves than in a zoo display, and they don't do much for crops or disease control behind bars.

The challenge of WNS is in understanding the origin and transmission of the disease. Once this is accomplished, a framework for combating the disease can be put into place. For 2010, Congress allocated $1.9 million to WNS research. A great start but BCI and other conservation groups believe an additional $5 million is needed to effectively fight WNS. You can help, too, by voicing your concerns about WNS and urging your U.S. Representative to support WNS funding in the 2011 budget appropriations.

Editor's note: The post originally stated that Congress allocated $1.9 billion to WNS research and that $5 billion was needed. It should have read $1.9 million and $5 million, respectively.

Photo by Marvin Moriarty/USFWS - Northeast Region