CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With the spread of deadly white-nose syndrome likely to add new bat species to the federal endangered species list, coal operators in bat-friendly states like West Virginia can expect increased permitting scrutiny in the years to come.
That was one of several messages to emerge Wednesday from "Bats: Protecting Threatened Bats at Coal Mines," a technical forum sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Bat Conservation International and Jackson Environmental. The four-day program is being held at the Ramada Plaza in South Charleston.
Since white nose syndrome (WSN) was first detected in a New York cave in 2006, it has spread as far western Oklahoma, into more than 160 hibernation caves and abandoned mines in 13 states and two Canadian provinces, killing more than 1 million bats. In some hibernation sites, mortality rates approaching 100 percent have been recorded for some bat species.
"It's the most precipitous decline in North American wildlife in our history," Jeremy Coleman, national WSN coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said during a presentation on Wednesday.
Coleman said that more than 100 government agencies, universities and private organizations are researching the causes of the disease in hopes of developing effective treatments. The source of WNS is believed to be a white, powdery fungus, geomyces destructans, often seen on the muzzles of affected bats, giving the malady its name.
"A huge number of unknowns are involved in studying white nose syndrome," Coleman said. "Some species of bats seem not to be susceptible to it, while others experience 100 percent declines in some caves. It spreads rapidly, like a pathogen, but there's no evidence of a bacterial, viral or parasitic cause."
He added that bats may fare better in drier hibernation caves and mines than in more humid ones, for reasons that have yet to be determined.
Bats themselves seem to be the primary distributors of the disease, although there is concern that humans may capable of spreading it, Coleman said, since geomyces destructans spores have been found clinging to caving gear. Protocols have been established for decontaminating caving gear, and cavers have been urged not to enter hibernation caves throughout the East, South and Midwest. The U.S. Forest Service has closed public access to all caves on national forest lands from New England to eastern slope of the Rockies.
Coleman said it has recently come to light that the geomyces destructans has been found in European bat hibernation caves and on the bats who spend time there, but no bat mortality or WNS accompanies the presence of the fungus. One hypothesis is that the fungus has been present in European caves for many years, but only recently arrived in North America.
If the WNS fungus is native to Europe and European bats have managed to survive despite its presence, researchers may find the key to solving WNS die-off in America by studying the European bats.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With the spread of deadly white-nose syndrome likely to add new bat species to the federal endangered species list, coal operators in bat-friendly states like West Virginia can expect increased permitting scrutiny in the years to come.
That was one of several messages to emerge Wednesday from "Bats: Protecting Threatened Bats at Coal Mines," a technical forum sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Bat Conservation International and Jackson Environmental. The four-day program is being held at the Ramada Plaza in South Charleston.
Since white nose syndrome (WSN) was first detected in a New York cave in 2006, it has spread as far western Oklahoma, into more than 160 hibernation caves and abandoned mines in 13 states and two Canadian provinces, killing more than 1 million bats. In some hibernation sites, mortality rates approaching 100 percent have been recorded for some bat species.
"It's the most precipitous decline in North American wildlife in our history," Jeremy Coleman, national WSN coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said during a presentation on Wednesday.
Coleman said that more than 100 government agencies, universities and private organizations are researching the causes of the disease in hopes of developing effective treatments. The source of WNS is believed to be a white, powdery fungus, geomyces destructans, often seen on the muzzles of affected bats, giving the malady its name.
"A huge number of unknowns are involved in studying white nose syndrome," Coleman said. "Some species of bats seem not to be susceptible to it, while others experience 100 percent declines in some caves. It spreads rapidly, like a pathogen, but there's no evidence of a bacterial, viral or parasitic cause."
He added that bats may fare better in drier hibernation caves and mines than in more humid ones, for reasons that have yet to be determined.
Bats themselves seem to be the primary distributors of the disease, although there is concern that humans may capable of spreading it, Coleman said, since geomyces destructans spores have been found clinging to caving gear. Protocols have been established for decontaminating caving gear, and cavers have been urged not to enter hibernation caves throughout the East, South and Midwest. The U.S. Forest Service has closed public access to all caves on national forest lands from New England to eastern slope of the Rockies.
Coleman said it has recently come to light that the geomyces destructans has been found in European bat hibernation caves and on the bats who spend time there, but no bat mortality or WNS accompanies the presence of the fungus. One hypothesis is that the fungus has been present in European caves for many years, but only recently arrived in North America.
If the WNS fungus is native to Europe and European bats have managed to survive despite its presence, researchers may find the key to solving WNS die-off in America by studying the European bats.
Meanwhile, researchers need to learn more about the environmental conditions that affect the persistence of WNS, step up the nation's bat monitoring effort, and pinpoint which WNS symptoms cause death.
"We're in new territory with this disease," Coleman said. "We know its impact will cascade into the environment. Bats are a major control for agricultural pests. With so many of them gone, will that mean the use of pesticides will go up?"
Mike Armstrong of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Frankfort, Ky., field station, said 25 of 45 North American bat species are at risk from WNS, including four of the six endangered bat species in the United States.
Of the endangered bats, the Indiana bat seems to be the most vulnerable species. Since the WNS was first detected in a cave in New York four years ago, the Indiana bat population in that state has declined by more than 60 percent, he said.
Some species not currently on the endangered list may soon be added, Armstrong said, since their numbers are plummeting dramatically due to WNS. At current mortality rates, the non-listed little brown bat, or example, is on track for possible extinction in about 30 years, he said.
Endangered Indiana bat hibernation sites are already scattered across coal producing areas in West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. "There's a lot of overlap," Armstrong said. If additional species in the region are granted endangered or threatened status "one impact could be increased permitting scrutiny," he said. "Monitoring to obtain site specific data will become more important. There may be regional policy differences in regulations."
In West Virginia, mist net bat surveys are currently required for surface mines that would disturb more than 40 acres.
On Tuesday, conference attendees toured abandoned mines in the New River Gorge National River that have been gated to protect hibernating bats, and the Pritchard surface mine near Kanawha State Forest, where bat habitat set-asides have been established after Indiana bats were found in the area.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
