Posted November 12, 2015 8:30 pm by Comments

By Vanessa Torres

Bats White Nose Syndrome
Bats White Nose Syndrome
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Nebraska -(Ammoland.com)- The fungus known to cause white-nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats, a disease that has decimated bat populations in the United States and Canada, was recently discovered for the first time in Nebraska.

The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans – or P. destructans – was detected in samples sent to researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz for testing.

The samples were collected in 2015 from bats hibernating in a mine in Cass County in eastern Nebraska.

Northern long-eared bats, tri-colored bats and big brown bats tested positive for the fungus.

WNS has killed more than six million bats in North America since it was first discovered in New York in 2007. In some states, winter bat numbers have declined by more than 90 percent. Since it was first detected, WNS has been confirmed in 26 states and five Canadian provinces. The fungus has been detected in four additional states, including Nebraska.

“While the presence of the fungus is disappointing, it is not surprising,” said Mike Fritz, Natural Heritage zoologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. “With the fungus being present in states around …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand

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