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  • anney
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That is very alarming, KK. Below is another report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
    "What we've seen so far is unprecedented,'' said Alan Hicks, DEC's bat specialist. "Most bat researchers would agree that this is the gravest threat to bats they have ever seen. We have bat researchers, laboratories and caving groups across the country working to understand the cause of the problem and ways to contain it. Until we know more, we are asking people to stay away from known bat caves."

    Bat biologists across the country are evaluating strategies to monitor the presence of the disease and collect specimens for laboratory analysis. Biologists are taking precautions - using sanitary clothing and respirators when entering caves -- to avoid spreading the disease in the process.

    Bat populations are particularly vulnerable during hibernation as they congregate in large numbers in caves - in clusters of 300 per square foot in some locations -- making them susceptible to disturbance or disease. The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of bats known to hibernate in New York do so in just five caves and mines. Because bats migrate as far as hundreds of miles to their summer range, impacts to hibernating bats can have significant implications for bats throughout the Northeast.

    Indiana bats, a state and federally endangered species, are perhaps the most vulnerable. Half the estimated 52,000 Indiana bats that hibernate in New York are located in just one former mine - a mine that is now infected with white nose syndrome. Eastern pipistrelle, northern long-eared and little brown bats are also dying. Little brown bats, the most common hibernating species in the state, have sustained the largest number of deaths.

    I am very suspicious of GM BT-11 corn, which is 40% of the corn crop grown in the US, primarily in middle-America.

    There's a possible link between BT corn and bee-colony deaths. The study in question is a small research project conducted at the University of Jena from 2001 to 2004. The researchers examined the effects of pollen from a genetically modified maize variant called "Bt corn" on bees. A gene from a soil bacterium had been inserted into the corn that enabled the plant to produce an agent that is toxic to insect pests. The study concluded that there was no evidence of a "toxic effect of Bt corn on healthy honeybee populations." But when, by sheer chance, the bees used in the experiments were infested with a parasite, something eerie happened. According to the Jena study, a "significantly stronger decline in the number of bees" occurred among the insects that had been fed a highly concentrated Bt poison feed.

    According to Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a professor at the University of Halle in eastern Germany and the director of the study, the bacterial toxin in the genetically modified corn may have "altered the surface of the bee's intestines, sufficiently weakening the bees to allow the parasites to gain entry -- or perhaps it was the other way around. We don't know."

    Of course, the concentration of the toxin was ten times higher in the experiments than in normal Bt corn pollen. In addition, the bee feed was administered over a relatively lengthy six-week period.

    Kaatz would have preferred to continue studying the phenomenon but lacked the necessary funding. "Those who have the money are not interested in this sort of research," says the professor, "and those who are interested don't have the money."

    More research must be done, of course.

    If bats are eating insects loaded with BT that have fed on GM corn, it looms very large in my mind as the possible culprit.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bat Die-Off Prompts Investigation

  • ediej1209 AL Zn 7
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hate it... not only because I love bats, but I shudder to think of what the mosquito populations will be like without this natural control. I hope they identify the likely cause quickly. Thanks for bringing this to light; somehow our local papers and other media haven't said anything about it.

  • kkfromnj
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago
  • compostman
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, this is bad news. I wonder if it has anything to do with all the West Nile spraying they've been doing lately in that area.

    That BT Corn sounds like nasty stuff too.

  • oakleif
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please forgive me if i am ugly about this but it needs to be said I really beleive Mansanto and their frankenfood is bound to be responsible and i beleive they will never allow any research on this substance.Can you imagine the lawsuits that would result. The only hope would be research from a european country. And they will not be interested as they do not allow Mansanto seeds in their countries.
    If by chance it's not the frankenfood seeds. I'll admit i'm wrong.
    Thanks for letting me rant.

  • sib5
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What really fascinates me about this is how the gardening group can see this coming before the mass population and
    even the professionals.