Comments on: Devastated Brown Bats Could Earn Endangered Species Protection

By: Gar

Gar — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:20:13 +0000

It would seem that my initial post regarding the bats was unacceptable. Stating that they are unfit to remain on the planet because they can’t adapt fast enough to any changes in theor environment is too harsh?

By: Geoffrey Frasz

Geoffrey Frasz — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:40:21 +0000

I noticed that connection too and I am glad for John’s hypotheses.

By: Colin

Colin — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:39:00 +0000

If something can be done to protect little brown bats, well, go ahead and do it. But since this disease is, apparently, at least, a natural occurance and not something people are doing (unlike, say, hunting them) I don’t see what listing them can do.

By: John Lerch

John Lerch — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:31:05 +0000

This connects with a post yesterday that 98.1 degrees is the ideal for balancing metabolic cost and lowered resistance to fungi. Presumably hibernation lowers the temps so the fungus can invade. It seems to me that either these bats have lost an extra protection against fungus or global warming has allowed a vector animal to carry the fungus later in the fall.