PROVIDENCE, RI – A mysterious disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) is decimating the population of once common species of bats in the eastern United States and the federal government is teaming up with leading researchers in Rhode Island to search for solutions to help save the native bat population from extinction.

Rhode Island has good reason to be concerned about protecting its bat population because bats are critical to controlling mosquitos, as well as insects that eat or damage forests and local crops.  By eating metric tons of these bugs, these little bats have an outsized impact on our agricultural economy.  According to the U.S. Forest Service, bats have an estimated value of $23 billion annually to the agricultural industry

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is awarding nearly $1 million in federal grants to 35 states across the nation to address the spread of the deadly white-nose syndrome in bats.  U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees FWS funding, today announced that Rhode Island is being awarded a $21,751 grant from this program.  The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and wildlife officials will use the federal funds to conduct acoustic monitoring and can share their data as part of a national bat population monitoring program.

And earlier this spring, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $500,000 grant to researchers at Brown University for a project entitled “Characterization of the Secretome of P. Destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome in Bats,” under the direction of Richard Bennett.  This study may help build on a new discovery made by a team from Brown University and the University of California–San Francisco that found the likely way that WNS breaks down tissue in bats, opening the door to potential treatments that could ultimately protect bats from further WNS destruction.

“Bats are a natural pest control service and provide important benefits for our ecosystems and the economy.  A healthy bat population means a healthier environment.  I am pleased Rhode Island is receiving additional funding to continue studying and monitoring our bat population and that federal resources are supporting important discoveries at Brown University.  I am cautiously optimistic that if the federal government continues to partner with the private sector, researchers, and state wildlife officials, we can effectively respond to this disease and help the native bat population survive,” said Reed.

First discovered in 2006 near Albany, New York, WNS affects hibernating bats through a fungal infection on the muzzle and other parts of the body.  The disease has killed an estimated 5 million to 6 million bats in 28 states and Canada. 

According to DEM’s What You Should Know About BATS fact page: the white-nose syndrome disease is named for the white “fuzz” that sometimes appears on the muzzles of affected hibernating bats.  More frequently it causes deterioration of the bats wing membranes.  The disease affects the bats during hibernation by disrupting their metabolism, causing dehydration and loss of fat reserves.  Bats may prematurely arouse from hibernation to search for food and water only to encounter sub-freezing temperatures and lack of food. It is now believed that the disease may have been transported by humans, possibly on equipment or clothing, from caves or mines in Europe, where the fungus also occurs but does not have the same impact on the bat species there.  The disease does not affect humans, pets, or livestock and does not occur in hot, dry environments such as attics.

Rhode Island is home to 8 species of bats, which are active across the state from early spring through fall.  In the winter, without a robust insect food supply, and with no natural caves or abandoned mines that bats would use to hibernate through the winter, many bats migrate from Rhode Island to other states where they may hibernate in mass colonies.

The Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) is the most common bat species in Rhode Island.  And until recently, the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) was also very common in the Ocean State.

According to 2011 U.S. Geological Survey research, “a single little brown bat, which has a body no bigger than an adult’s thumb, can eat 4 to 8 grams (the weight of about a grape or two) of insects each night…  Although this may not sound like much, it adds up  —  the loss of the one million bats in the Northeast has probably resulted in between 660 and 1,320 metric tons of insects no longer being eaten each year by bats in the region.”

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