[ad_1]
ST PAUL, Minnesota – Half of Minnesota's bat species are about to disappear because of a life-threatening fungal disease.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released Thursday the results of its bat population survey. The researchers found that the disease called white nose syndrome had killed up to 94% of bats that hibernated in state-monitored caves and abandoned mines.
The fungus produces a white and powdery substance and is known to harm only bats in hibernation. Minnesota has four species of hibernation of bats and four species that migrate south for the winter.
Gerda Nordquist, a departmental mammalogist, says researchers fear that hibernating bats will soon be completely eliminated from Minnesota.
Nordquist says the dramatic decline of bats could lead to an increase in insect populations. Bats help reduce mosquitoes and some pests of crops.
[ad_2]
Source link
