USFWS aims for large-scale cave fungicide treatment

[PYoungbaer]

In the $1.4 million of WNS research grants just awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of the projects aims for large-scale cave treatment by fungicide or biological control in the Spring of 2013.

Here's the interview with U.S. Fish and Wildlife's WNS National Coordinator, Jeremy Coleman:

http://earthsky.org/biodiversity/jeremy-coleman-white-nose-syndrome-wiping-out-cavefuls-of-hibernating-bats-in-u-s

Key quote:

He’s concerned that treating bats in a lab – where the cave’s environment wouldn’t be affected – might not be worth it. Coleman said:

Anything that could be planned or done with an anti-fungal compound, we would have to be able to do it on a large enough scale that we would be sustaining the population, not just individual bats.

Here's the research story:

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Effort-to-save-bats-gets-a-boost-3466089.php

Key quote:

"We are looking at other fungus as a biological control." Said Chaturvedi, "If any fungus appears promising, it could be applied to an infected cave as a field trial in the spring of 2013."

[BrianC]

I have stated before, This is probably one of the worst ideas that humans could do to a cave environment! Leave the bats and the ecosystems alone. We have no business messing with the natural environment. I Cory want's to add a treatment in the conservancies controlled man made cave, Then that (although could also affect other caves if a bat escapes) would be bad, but possibly controlled for healing sick bats. I would not want to see bats purposly infected there then subject to treatments. It is just horrible for humans to fool with mother nature.

[sawicks]

I would agree that typically humans have no right to interfer with the efforts of mother nature. That being said most of the time when humans are trying to mess with mother nature its to solve problems we started. Im sure mother nature didnt intend for bats to ride on boats across the sea, so then rapid motorized boat travel across the atlantic is the human vector that helped spread WNS here to the states. if that is indeed the case. I will say that we definitely shouldnt go into caves, which are full of endemic sensitive species, adding a bunch of new chemicals to the systems, that seems irresponsible.