Bats Facing Extinction In US
White nose Syndrome (WNS) is a fungal infection
that has caused the deaths
of more than a million bats in North America.
it was first identified from a cave in Schoharie County, New York in February 2006.It’s named for a distinctive ring of fungal growth around the muzzles,ears and on the wings of infected animals.Scientists have identified this Fungus as a member of the Geomyces genus (family Myxotrichaceae)
Bats are important to us as a natural pesticide.They can consume large number of insects,as much as their own body weight in a single night.So this sudden decrease of bat populations will cause a huge impact on the environment.
Also WNS is predicted to cause extinction of globally threatened bats such as Indiana bat,Myotis sodalis (IUCN threat level-Endangered) and regional extinction of common bat species.
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