At 01:45 PM 3/26/2009, Preston Forsythe wrote:
Subject: URGENT: USFWS issues call for caving moratorium
The NSS NEWS article said, in part: Right now, the Indiana Bat
(Myotis sodalis) is the only federally-endangered species being affected.
and
Little Browns are the most affected by sheer numbers. Other affected
species are Eastern Pipistrelles, Big Browns, Northern Long-Eared,
and Eastern Small-Footed
I know that this is all very new and that research on it is only in
the very early stages but a few questions come to mind--most of which
probably cannot be answered at this time.
I think we have some Little Brown bats in Texas--not in large
numbers??? Do they migrate? How far? Could they be a vector?
How about any of the others--do they hang out in Texas/The Southwest?
What are their migratory habits?
Is there a chance that some bats--say the Mexican Freetale--could be
immune to the infection?
I can't find the reference at the moment but I seem to recall that
WNS has been found in North Carolina but not South Carolina, Georgia,
or Florica. Could cave temperature be a factor? Are Texas caves too
warm for the organism--or whatever is causing WNS--to survive?
Can Jim Kennedy and/or any of the other of our people who deal with
bats as a way of life shed light on any of these questions--and
others which I'm sure will come up?
This is totally off the wall but I can visualize a vaccine--once all
the factors are identified--being sprayed as an aerosol mist up into
the bat flights as they exit Texas caves in an effort to protect them.
Should we expect an influx of Eastern cavers visiting Texas caves
because they're shut out of the cold, muddy ones back in the colonies?
--Ediger
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