2009 Complete Guide to White Nose Syndrome (WNS), Threat to Bats, Hibernating Bat Population Die-offs, Fungus Research, Caves and Mines (Two CD-ROM Set)

This up-to-date electronic book on two CD-ROMs has comprehensive coverage of a newly discovered threat to bats, known as white nose syndrome, with detailed material from a number of government agencies about this emerging crisis. Responding to an unprecedented die-off of thousands of hibernating bats in the Northeast, biologists and researchers from around the country are working to determine the cause of death, and to assess the threat to bat populations nationwide. The disorder, dubbed white-nose syndrome (WNS) because of the presence of a white fungus around the muzzles of some affected bats, is a major concern to the bat conservation community. It is unknown if the fungus is contributing to the deaths or whether it is a symptom of another problem. Human health implications are not known; there is no information indicating that people have been affected after visiting sites where WNS has been found. White-nose syndrome was first detected at caves and mines in New York last winter, where it is believed to be associated with the deaths of approximately 8,000 to 11,000 bats. This winter, WNS has again been found at the previously affected sites, and has spread to additional sites in New York as well as sites in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Approximately 400,000 to 500,000 bats hibernate at affected sites. Wildlife managers are concerned about the outbreak because bats congregate by the thousands in caves and mines to hibernate during winter months. If WNS is caused by an infectious agent, this behavior increases the potential that the disease will spread among hibernating bats. In addition, hibernating bats disperse in spring and migrate, sometimes hundreds of miles away, to spend the summer. There is extensive material from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Biological Information Infrastructure, the Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Surface Mining, Forest Service, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), NASA, and the Department of Defense. In addition to the white nose syndrome coverage, there is extensive material on bats, with information on Endangered Species (including the Indiana bat), Habitat Preservation, Pollination, Rabies, Wildflowers, Echo Location, Bat Boxes, Insect Control, Caves, Climate Change, mining issues, and the Bat Census by species and location. This extraordinary, encyclopedic collection about bats contains more than 17,000 pages reproduced in Adobe Acrobat PDF files. Bats are one of the least studied and most misunderstood mammals, particularly in the United States. They are also considered to be among the most beneficially influential mammal species to humans, plants, and other wildlife. The global importance of bats in pollination, seed dispersal, and insect control has been proven to be extremely significant. Unfortunately, human ignorance, fear, myth, habitat destruction, and bats slow reproductive rates continue to contribute to the decline of many bat species worldwide. Forty percent of American bat species are either in severe decline or have already been listed as endangered. Because of bats role in keeping crop pest insects in check, bat declines in agricultural regions can have negative economic effects for both farmers and consumers as a result of increased annual crop damage. USDA publication quote