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Proposal Draft

Carolina Villalobos

206 Hiester Hall

State College, PA 16802

Mr. Alan Jalowitz, Ed.

201B Pattee Library

University Park, PA 16802

Introduction

Is the bat population all of sudden dying? Is it the end of the lives of the only vital flying

mammal in the world?

Recently, over the last four years, thousands of bats have been facing death due to amysterious disease that has hunted and killed bats by the thousands not only in the upper

northeastern part of the U.S such as New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts but

Pennsylvania alone. Scientists and researchers four years ago diagnosed the disease as White

Nose Syndrome (WNS), but further research to find a cure for this disease remains unknown. InPennsylvania, research has been gathered in the past two years by biologists and researchers by

visiting caves testing bats for WNS. Surprisingly, according to statistics WNS in Pennsylvania

has increased in the last two years as more shocking discoveries are seen as more bats are beingfound dead inside caves and outside on the landscape. It is certain that in the past four years

(2006-2010) WNS has almost wiped out large bat populations in the northeast and it has become

a concern that WNS is becoming unstoppable as it spreads out West as well.

Having lived and survived for up to 50 million years, bats have become a great source andhelpful hand in improving agricultural aspects, never the less, replenishing ecosystems. If it were

not for bats, insect populations will sky rocket increasing the spread of malignant diseases,

agriculture will have an enormous impact by lowering its productivity due to insect infestation,and habitats and niches in rainforests or deserts will decline without bat pollination of flowers

and fertilization of fecal matter to replenish ecosystems.

I will start off the article by first, explaining briefly basic information about bats such aswhere they live and what they eat. Moreover, I will explain the significance that bats have on the

planet being pollinators, pest control agents, and seed dispersers. I will then move on to making a

brief introduction of White Nose Syndrome, the fungus responsible for causing the disease, andfurther explain in detail its effect on bats. Furthermore, I will talk about the discoveries of WNS

starting from the year that it was first discovered in the United States (2006) to where it is

affecting bats in the present day. Then, I will talk about bat observations made by biologists and

researchers when visiting the caves in Pennsylvania, moreover observations and actions madeand taken by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to help prevent the spread of WNS. Finally, I

will talk about the actions that the public can take to prevent white nose syndrome and treatments

that researchers have been trying to come up with to cure WNS in bats.

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Credentials

Moving onto my senior year and being an Animal Science major at Penn State University, I

believe that I can be a great candidate for this article. Not knowing much about white nose

syndrome in bats before researching to write this article I have learned a lot through web articles

and newspaper documents on the disease. Interning at Centre Wildlife Care, a wildliferehabilitation near Shaver’s Creek Pennsylvania, I have learned a lot from wildlife rehabber Robyn Graboski. Founder and director of Centre Wildlife, Robyn Graboski has rehabilitated

wildlife for almost twenty two years. Among the wildlife, Robyn knows about bats to give meenough information about WNS. Although most of my research was found from articles on the

web, I was able to grab some information on WNS from Robyn, explaining that WNS was

confirmed as a disease not an illness and it is affecting most of the bat in cave hibernacula inPennsylvania. In close contact with the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), Robyn has been

able to give me some email updates from the PGC concerning WNS along with information on

WNS and how one help save them. With her help I have been able to gather enough information

on WNS in bats. Furthermore, I researched through newspaper articles and Proquest  articles

through the Penn State Library website finding detailed information on bat behavior, deaths, andareas affected by WNS.

With my prior research and time management skills, along with your help and our English

instructor, and PSU libraries, this article has the potential to be informative, persuasive, and

intriguing. My strong interest for writing this article builds my hope to spark the reader with

interest as well as allowing the reader to find it entertaining to read. Furthermore, the topic andarticle I am writing for the PA Center for the Book Project will be completed and in a manner

that is acceptable to your standards.

Research

No books on White Nose Syndrome in bats have been published due to being a recent

discovery of the disease. However, my research includes newspaper articles, journals, aninterview, and the web articles on WNS. As I mentioned before, I have researched and gathered

enough information through the Penn State library website. These sources include NewsBank andProquest  articles. From the   Newsbank Access World News, I found information on updates of WNS in the past four months and observations made a year ago by researchers on WNS when

caves were visited in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, there is information based on recent treatments

that scientists are experimenting with to find a cure for WNS as actions taken by PGC to preventthe spread of WNS as well as ways that the public can help to reduce the spread of the disease.

There are other several articles that discuss, as reported by biologists and researchers, normal

hibernating behavior in bats compared to bats that have been affected by WNS. The Proquest  

articles discuss statistics of increasing bat deaths in upper northeastern states such as New York,Connecticut, Massachusetts along with bat deaths in Pennsylvania.

Aside from researching in the PSU library website, I found a variety of images depicting what

WNS looks like on bats. Moreover, I picked out several photos showing the physical conditions

of bats to provide the public with an idea of how serious this disease has affected bats.Furthermore, speaking with wildlife rehabber Robyn Graboski about WNS allowed me to

understand and learn more about the disease. In close affiliation with the Pennsylvania Game

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Commission, Centre Wildlife Care has received recent updates through emails sent on the spread

and number of bats deaths in Pennsylvania caused by WNS.

Technical Description

White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a deadly fungal disease that affects bats in hibernacula, cave

or mines where bats hibernate. For the past four years, WNS has been spreading affecting bats

from New England to as far west as Missouri. As of now, the fungal disease remains untreatableand as concerns keep rising, the disease will continue to spread.

Four years ago (2006) in Albany, New York, it the first discovery ever made when hundreds of bats were found dead by biologists exploring nearby caves in the winter. The same physiological

characteristics were seen on the bats dead or alive: the

white fungus appearing on their muzzle and wing

membranes (sometimes appearing on ears). As more

and more investigations were made by biologistsvisiting caves, more dead bats were found on the

landscape near or inside the caves. The white fungaldisease took off into spreading from northeast to New

England and south to into eastern Pennsylvania and

New Jersey, which soon gave the outbreak the nameWhite- nose Syndrome. (close-up of map onhttp://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2010/04/white_nose

_syndrome.php )

The white fungus, belonging in the genus Geomyces

distructans, usually appears on the muzzle (around the

nose area) on bats. Up close, the small patches appearlike fuzzy white mold, such as that found on rotten

fruit. In other cases, the fungus is seen on the backs of 

bats and appears like white snowflakes bound to theback. However, as seen by researchers and biologists,

the fungus appears on the ears, nose, and wing

membranes the majority of the time.Geomyces distructans the name given to the fungus,

had not been known to man and science before,

remaining undiscovered until the outbreak of WNS in

caves and mines in 2006. It is given the possibility thatEuropean travelers had introduced the fungus in North

America when visiting nearby caves by carrying the

fungal spores on their clothing. Yet, little is known if the fungus came from a different country

or remained undiscovered by residing in the cool temperatures in caves in North America. Ateam of scientists lead by David Blehert and Andrea Gargas, experimented and studied the

fungus carefully monitoring its growth and different temperatures (published in 2008).

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Surprisingly the slow growing fungus grew better at 37°F

and 45°F rather than at 75°F (showed no growth). These

cold temperatures were similar to that found in infected batcaves.

In the winter seasons, bats usually hibernate in the deep

darkness of caves or mines and awaken once or twice every15-30 days to urinate, drink, and mate. Interestingly, bats

lower their temperatures to a range of 35-50° F barely above

the ambient cave temperature while simultaneously

lowering their immune response. Since Geomyces grows in

cold temperatures, there is the explanation why it is growingon bats. With white nose syndrome affecting bats,

hibernating behavior in bats has changed dramatically.

According to witnesses in Chester Mines, Massachusetts in

2009, bats were spotted active in the months of January-through mid March flying during the daylooking for food and water. In Mifflin county mines in Pennsylvania, bats were interestingly and

strangely discovered dead on the snow in a ring around trees. For many biologists andresearchers, there is strong evidence that WNS has affected hibernating behavior in bats.

Working at a lab at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, biology professor Dr. DeeAnn

Reeder, studies and performs field work on immune responses in hibernating bats. Over the past

three years, Reeder has been questionably studying and testing periodic arousals of bats duringhibernation. Strangely enough, bat arousal time affected with WNS rouse bats every three or four

days depleting their fat reserves, which explains why bats appear dehydrated and most of the

time emaciated. When a bat is dehydrated the wing membranes appear shriveled up similar towhen a leaf has not been exposed to water in a long

time. According to Reeder, “Sometimes we find dead bats in a ring around trees. We’re not sure exactly, but

I think their body fat gets so lean they wake up andthink it’s spring and it’s time to feed, but don’t find

any insects in winter, roost in a tree, die and fall.”While visiting the caves in Mifflin County with

students last year, Reeder has felt overwhelmed to seethese creatures die in increasing numbers. Reeder

hypothesized that bats have an immune-surveillance

system which means that during hibernation, batsincrease their body temperature to fight off any

diseases and then lower their temperature again. These

periodical warm-ups is what boosts the bat’s

physiological system. WNS however, arouses bats,thus leading bats to awaken frequently causing them to

expend their stored energy in search for food.

Working alongside with Dr. Reeder, Greg Turner, a

  biologist with the Game Commission’s WildlifeDiversity Section, had also investigated and researched

the Mifflin County mines in 2008 counting the number of bats that so far had survived in the

cave. “There’d be about 2,000 to 3,000 bats in the area. So far, we’ve counted about 500 and a

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lot of them are dead. This past fall we began to examine the health of our bats to see if they came

into hibernation…using telemetry gear and data-loggers to monitor the body temperatures and

arousal patterns…” According to Reeder, the two biologists along with the Pennsylvania Game

Commission estimated about 80-90% mortality in some of the caves in the area in 2008.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has take action to prevent the spread of WNS.

Caverns including the Aitkin Cave, a wellknown hibernation site in a 43-acre preserve

in Mifflin County, PA have been banned

entry and are closed to the public. Althoughthe disease is not contagious and harmful to

humans, pets and even livestock, the fungal

spores are capable of clinging onto clothingor fur. To make bat hibernacula save, it is

better to keep caves closed to prevent further

spread and contamination. Caving in the

northeast and areas where WNS has settled,

has been banned by the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Forest Service and The Nature Conservancyto prevent further spread of WNS.

The Game Commission in general performs field work in caves instate every year. In the past

two years (2008-2010) however, the Commission has dived further surveying 20 to 30

hibernacula between January and March monitoring for WNS. Moreover, the agency assistedresearchers in investigating bats by looking for normal metabolic rate of hibernating bats,

studying normal immune response capabilities of bats, and measuring if there is sufficient fat

stores in bats before hitting hibernation. It is important, not only for the Game Commission, butbiologists and bat researchers to note these hibernating characteristics in bats since hibernation

has become critical ever since the spread of WNS.

Conclusion

After providing an introduction on WNS in bats, discussing my credentials, informing you on

my current research, and writing a technical description, I hope you are convinced of my ability

to write about this topic to the highest level. I intend to write in a way that the reader willunderstand my topic fully. Any questions or concerns feel free to write any comments or advice I

would greatly appreciate it. I therefore requests your permission to continue my research and

writing on WNS for the article. Thank you for your time Allen.

Best Regards,

Carolina Villalobos

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Citations

Rick Steelhammer."White-nose disease confirmed in Pendleton bats. " McClatchy  – Tribune Business News 25 February 2009 ABI/INFORM Dateline, ProQuest.

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=2&did=1651007761&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&Inst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274631261&clientId=9874 18May.2010.

• Mediocre•Talks about the spread of WNS in bats in five different states in the northeastern part of 

the US and it’s risk of expansion to the west.•Info is useful by stating where the disease has spread and how can it affect people of theStates.

Christopher Baxter. "White-nose syndrome killing bats: Flying mammals are found dying ofmysterious fungus in Pennsylvania mine. "McClatchy - Tribune Business News  

23 January 2009 ABI/INFORM Dateline, ProQuest. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=3&did=1631479231&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&Inst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274631261&clientId=9874 . 18May. 2010.

•Mediocre •Some caves have been affected in the PA and the PGC begins to grow concern of bat

populations beginning to decrease• This article is helpful by showing statistics of bat populations declining in 2008 when the

WNS began to arise.

"WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME SURFACES IN PENNSYLVANIA. " US Fed News Service,Including US State News  22 Jan. 2009,General Interest Module, ProQuest.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&did=1635569601&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=3&Inst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274631261&clientId=9874. 18May.2010.

• Good • Two Biologists from Bucknell University and from the Game Commission have been

working on monitoring bat behavior, metabolic activity, and hibernation characteristics ofbats

•This article is helpful by explaining what the two biologists have discovered in the lasttwo years in terms of bat behavior linking to WNS

Morgan Simmons. "Bat disease spreading much faster than expected. " McClatchy  –Tribune Business News  23 April 2010 ABI/INFORM Dateline, ProQuest.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=2016571241&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=3&Inst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274636065&clientId=9874. May2010.

• Mediocre• WNS confirmed in Tenessee 

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  • there is proof that WNS has reached the caves in Tenessee. The article talks aboutsome of the common bat species that are affected.

Bhattacharya, S. "Murder in the bat cave." New Scientist 27 Mar. 2010: Research LibraryCore, ProQuest.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=2015960801&SrchMode=2

sid=2&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274636781&clintId=9874 18 May. 2010.• Good •Bat hibernation characteristics •This article talks about some basic facts about bat hibernation, such as what is the  normal bat hibernating period and what is abnormal of bats hibernating with WNS

Theodore H. Fleming, Cullen Geiselman, and W. John Kress

The evolution of bat pollination: a phylogenetic perspective Ann. Bot. 2009 104: 1017-1043.

• Mediocre 

•Bat Pollination 

•Helpful by describing how bats contribute to the ecosystem by pollinating flowers which allow

for the production of more plants eaten by mammals or other species.

Malawsky,Nick. “Bat Disease Confirmed Here.” Centre Daily Times State College PA: pg 1 Newsbank Access World News. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12

9107E571C61C0&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=1. Saturday April 11, 2009.

• Good • WNS syndrome investigated and confirmed in Centre County PA 

• The article talks about the discovery of WNS in Centre County, Mifflin county, and areas close to

Centre County where caves have been infected.

ASSOCIATED PRESS. “Bat Disease Could Spread into West.” Erie Times-News PA: ETN.NewbankBank Access World News. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=1F94BF6294264A8&p_docnum=2&p_queryname=6. Saturday, May 8, 2010.

• Mediocre 

•White Nose Syndrome is spreading west 

• Caves are closing down in the west to prevent further contamination of the fungus. The articletalks about how humans to prevent the spread of WNS and how can the fungus spread from one

area to another.

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Hayes, John. CAN BATS BE SAVED? - A LITTLE-UNDERSTOOD FUNGUS IS KILLING

THEM AT AN ALARMING RATE. Pittsburg Post-Gazette PA Two Star: A-1.NewsBank Access World News. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw

search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12E4E8C

6123E300&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=8. Sunday, March 7, 2010.

•Good •Research on bats being made on behavior, WNS, how far researchers have gone with finding acure for bats

•article is helpful because it gives me some information on eating, hibernating, and survivalcharacteristics of bats and how WNS has changed these normal bat behaviors.

Jackson, Kent. “Illness Machines Threatens Bats.” Standard-Speaker Hazleton, PA Daily: Section Bpg12. NewsBank Access World News. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw

search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12E4E8C

6123E300&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=8. Sunday, March 7, 2010.

• Good 

• Cause of how WNS ended up in the US • Researchers have come to the conclusion that it’s possible that WNS was first introduced in

in America by European travelers which might have carried and brought the disease fromEuropean caves. This article is helpful by explaining how exactly did researchers found out

how the illness was first discovered.

Baress, Cecilia. Biologist Try White-Nose Treatments on Bats. Pattsville Republican,The &Evening Herald PA Daily: section A pg 1. NewsBank Access World News

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iwsearch/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p

action=doc&p_docid=12DEC744CA79ABD0&p_docnum=3&p_queryname=14. Sunday, March, 7,2010.

•Mediocre 

•Investigating the fungus causing WNS 

•helpful article which talk s about how two biologists from the Penns. Game Commission investigatewhat anti-fungal agents (used in athletes foot) can be used to treat the fungus causing

WNS and can be useful to spray in caves to detain the fungus.

K.,Glen. White Nose Syndrome.2009, O’Bannon State Park, Indiana. Accessed 5 Aug.2009. http://www.coasttocoastam.com/photo/photo-of-the-day/40556

•Good 

• Image of a sign saying “Caves Closed” 

•This image is helpful to let the reader know that Game Commissions, not only in PA but in thenortheastern part of the US, caves are closing down to prevent further contamination of bats by

the public

Hicks, Al. White Nose Syndrome in Bats. 

http://wildwildweather.com/forecastblog/2009/05/welcome-to-the-what-the-anthropocene/ 

•Good 

•Image of bats with WNS 

• Image is helpful to give the reader an idea of what bats look like with the illness 

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Butchkoski, Cal. WNS Occurrence by County District. 2010. Accessed 1 April.2010. http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2010/04/white_nose_syndrome.php

•Excellent 

• Image of counties affected by WNS from 2006-2010

• Image is helpful to give the reader an idea of how badly WNS has spread in counties in thenortheastern part of the US

Chosy, Julia. Dead Bats. 2010. Accessed 8 April 2010.http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2010/04/white_nose_syndrome.php

•Excellent

•Image of dead bats in winter  

• Image is helpful to allow the reader to see the outcome of WNS in bats in their unusual behavior to stop hibernating in winter and be active in the months of January-mid March.

Crocoll, Scott. Dead Indiana Bat. 2009, Rodendal, NY. Accessed 27 Jan 2009.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/feb/White-Nose-Syndrome-Spreading-AmongBats.html

•Excellent 

•Image of wing of dehydrated bat 

•Image is helpful to allow the reader to see how WNS has affected bats in that bats lose a lot of water that causes their wings to crumble up due to loss of water in their bodies.

Graboski, Robyn. Personal INTERVIEW. 20 May 2010.

•Good 

• She talks about WNS in bats 

• This interview was helpful in understanding a little more about WNS. She talks about howWNS has been confirmed as a disease not an illness. The PGC has prohibited Wildlife Rehabs to

rehabilitate bats.

Lindholm, Jane. “Scientists Racing to Protect Bats from WNS.” Vermont Public Radio. 6 March 

2009. http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/84295/. 20 May 2010

•Mediocre 

•reporter Jane Lindholm talks about her trip with biologist to visit a cave hibernacula in New

England (Vermont) to study how badly bats have been affected by WNS

• this article is helpful in that it gives several statistics of bat deaths at the mouth of the cave. Also

it gives several details of Jane’s experience of what she observed when she visited the cave.

Science Daily. “WNS In Bats: First Prevention Proposed by Ecologists.” Science News.10 March 

2009. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090305102709.htm. 20 May 2010

• Mediocre 

•The article shows statistics of number of bats that have died 

•This article is helpful because it talks about ways that one can solve the issue to stop WNS  

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Volks, Tom. “Geomyces Destructants.” TomVolkFungi. May 2009. 

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/may2009.html. 20 May 2010 

•Good 

•Info on fungus Geomyces-the killing fungus affecting bats undergoing WNS

• this article is helpful by explaining detailed information on fungus Geomyces such as: where it

grows, what suitable environments is the fungus resistant to, why has it been killing bats incaves, etc.

White Nose Syndrome in Bats. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serviesn.d.http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html. 20 May 2010

•Good 

•Frequently asked questions of WNS (what is it, where has it been observed, ect.) 

•This article is helpful by explaining the signs of WNS in bats, what can a person do when findinga bat with WNS, what threats does it impose on humans, & how WNS has endangered the

Indiana Bat.

DeCoskey, Jason L. “Re:White Nose Syndrome Update.” Message to Robyn Graboski. August 3,2009. Email

• Mediocre 

•the email talks about how the PGC (Pennsylvania Game Commission) is trying to be activelyinvolved in WNS surveillance.

• describes what has been discovered of the fungus on bats in PA and what the bats are looking like

in the caves.

Williams, Lisa. “WNS Update for Rehabbers.” Message to Robyn Graboski. December 3, 2009. 

Email.

•Mediocre 

•The email talks about observations made by the PGC about flying bats I the daytime, which is

unusual.

•There are indications of unusual behavior such as flying during the day instead of night.

•There has been in an increase in the number of bats confirmed with WNS in several counties.

Graboski, Robyn. “ Help save Bats from Deadly Epidemic.” Message to CWC-Supporter Lists.May 21,2010. Email.

• Good 

• Funding of WNS to Congress help fund WNS and stop the epidemic as soon as possible 

• What can you do as a person to try save bats from WNS 

• Statistics of number of bats in popular National Parks caves that have died

“All About Bat/Intro to Bats.” Bat Conservation International. n.d. http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/intro-to-bats/subcategory/18.html. 23 May. 2010. 

• Good 

• Talks about how and why bats are important in our ecosystem 

• Bats play a role as pollinators, pest control, & seed dispersal agents 

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