It鈥檚 another pathological puzzle for North American biologists. Two years after the mysterious 鈥渃olony collapse disorder鈥� decimated the bee population, a fatal illness is sweeping through bat caves of the north-eastern US.
White-nose syndrome leaves bats abnormally thin, with a white fungus furring their noses. It wiped out 90 per cent of the bats in the two caves in New York state where it was first identified last winter. Now it seems to have spread to New England鈥檚 largest bat cave, Aeolus cave in Vermont.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 appear that the fungus is the primary cause of death,鈥� says Elizabeth Buckles of Cornell University, New York. The syndrome encompasses a number of problems, including abnormal hibernation patterns, weight loss and increased mortality. It鈥檚 too early to tell how the illness is transmitted or if it is a result of environmental change, she adds.
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Scott Darling of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says cavers should not to enter caves or mines with hibernating bats until 15 May. 鈥淎t that time, we hope to know more about this sickness and how it is spread,鈥� he says.
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