Fish and Wildlife Service Awards $1.4 Million in Grants for

[cavergirl]

http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/Query.as ... Cache=True

2012 White-nose Syndrome Grant Recipients

Assessing the risk of Geomyces destructans transmission by bats that occupy contaminated hibernacula in late summer
Anne Ballmann, USGS National Wildlife Health Center; David Blehert; Carol Meteyer; and Robin Russell

Characterization of climatic parameters within bat hibernacula, their influence on environmental loads of Geomyces destructans, and implications for the mitigation of white-nose syndrome in bats
David S. Blehert, USGS National Wildlife Health Center; Michelle L. Verant; Jonathan Epstein; and Kevin Olival

Fungal Biocontrol Agents for Alleviation or Remediation of Geomyces destructans
Vishnu Chaturvedi, New York State Department of Health; and Sudha Chaturvedi

Antifungal skin microbes as tools for WNS management
Winifred F. Frick, University of California, Santa Cruz; A. Marm Kilpatrick; Craig K.R. Willis; and Jeffrey T. Foster

Understanding WNS Survivors: Exploring Resilience and Resistance to Variable Levels of Geomyces destructans Exposure in Context of Mitigation and Conservation
DeeAnn Reeder, Bucknell University; and Ken Field

Test of Biocompatible, Biodegradable, Widely Available and Inexpensive Anti-Fungal Agent on the Growth of G. destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome, on Experimentally Infected Bats Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
Maarten J. Vonhof, Western Michigan University; Timothy C. Carter; and M. Kevin Keel

Laboratory Studies of Host-Pathogen Interactions between Geomyces destructans and Bats
Craig Willis, University of Winnipeg; Trent K. Bollinger; Paul Cryan; Winifred F. Frick; A. Marm Kilpatrick; Vikram Misra; and Gudrun Wibbelt

[BrianC]

Looks like some multiple recipients will be very busy! Lots of anti-fungal creams will be developed as well. They might just look on the shelves for the over the counter athletes foot creams, and save the money for something that can really be used to understand where the bats will be in the next few years.I cant see that There will ever be a useful anti fungal agent non threatening to the other biota in a cave environment. Bats will survive as they always have from the beginning. Humans did not cause this travesty, and humans can't fix it. The bats must endure it or die, its that simple. This situation is not even similar to the loss of species through hunting of wild animals that have caused much if not total extinction of many species. Those problems can be settled through education and persuasive measures. We are at a loss with WNS, and now loosing money as well through often worthless grants and loss of revenue from closed caves. Yes! grants that are still looking at anti fungal measures that have already been looked at as invaluable tools in the environment. Now, the use as an effective treatment for captive species I believe already exists, so why continue the funding? No sense to me.