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BrianC wrote: would it be great to see the new maps showing where bats have repopulated?
PYoungbaer wrote:BrianC wrote: would it be great to see the new maps showing where bats have repopulated?
Brian - it would be inaccurate to say that bats have "repopulated" anywhere since WNS hit. All you're seeing is reports of some survivors. The number of hibernating bat colonies is down, and the number of bats is down. Given the low reproductive rates of bats (one pup per year, with a survival rate of 40% or so under healthy conditions), repopulation is a long way off. In fact, we've had a number of discussions about what is a realistic management goal. Traditional population recovery goals are to restore a population to previous levels. We don't even know if that's realistic or possible. It may very well be that the fungal and bat populations determine a new equilibrium where bat colonies are smaller, such as in Europe. That is very much a matter of discussion and speculation. However, there is no "repopulation" yet at all, just survivors, so don't hold your breath for any such map.
[/quote] This is just not true, caves that have been totally been wiped out have had bats counted recently. Now re-population of pups might not begin as quickly, but any bats that either return or simply migrate to a cave recently decimated, counts towards recovery. That is what I want to see.However, there is no "repopulation" yet at all, just survivors, so don't hold your breath for any such map.
This is just not true, caves that have been totally been wiped out have had bats counted recently.
PYoungbaer wrote:This is just not true, caves that have been totally been wiped out have had bats counted recently.
Brian - I'm not aware of any case such as you have described. Please list those caves where this has been reported. Thanks.
David Grimes wrote:I read an article I believe was posted on Cavechat that specifically said that bats had returned to some caves where the bat populations were wiped out. I will see if I can find the article again. I guess it would not be the first time a writer did not take the time to properly research something before writing an article but I believe they cited references.
The WNS map changed almost negligibly this past year, hopefully showing that its progression has curtailed.
I do like the logic whereby when asked to provide a reference to support a statement, it is deemed unnecessary since future examples will surely present themselves to support the current claim. I think theoretical physics uses that approach a lot.
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