Massive Bat Die-off in NJ? Maybe…and another fungus to blame!

The Star-Ledger reports that 95% of NJ bats died off this winter from a fungal infection known as “white-nose syndrome.” That sounds pretty damned scary, until you read the article and find that the headline was taken from a single reported hibernaculum (cool word meaning place where critters hibernate), the Hibernia Mine in Rockaway Township. Still, that doesn’t mean this isn’t serious. While Hibernia Mine might be an exceptional case, who knows (yet) how often this is repeating?

Hibernia Mine doesn’t appear to be an active spelunking site, but you never know what desperate cavers might do in New Jersey. The Star-Ledger report fails to mention that the Fish and Wildlife Service has asked for a voluntary moratorium in the northeast to prevent the further spread of the disease.

So, like the frogs and bees, we have another fungal infection at the root of an animal die-off. With the bats, however, it seems decidedly linked to human activity, but there still could be a climate connection. (After all, why are people suddenly carrying fungi?) This press release from Cardiff University suggests climate change is causing fungi to grow more rapidly and “fruit” more frequently.

So, if you are doing math at home, is it:

warmer/wetter climate = more fungi + disease + accelerated decay (fungi hasten wood rot) = more CO2 = climate change

Yikes.