While most people might be happy to hear that bat populations are dropping, this problem is much more serious than it first appears. Bat populations across eastern North America are at risk of extinction -- possibly within just 16 years, of the White-nose syndrome (WNS). This deadly and mysterious disease has no known cure ( It does not affect humans). It is killing bats at an alarming rate in the eastern U.S. and Canada. In some cases 99% of populations are disappearing. According to Dr. Brian Hickey, bat specialist from the Cornwall-based St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences, no one from the Ottawa region is studying bat populations. He says that he would be able to set up and train our ASLA students to be researchers in this subject at the Macoun Marsh.
The funds for this project were obtained from a special grant to support student outreach programs. It comes from the Ministry of Research and Innovation from the Ontario Government with a partnership from the University of Ottawa. Thank you to Diane Lagace, from the University of Ottawa, who made the ultrasound detector acquisition possible.
As primary predators of insects, bats reduce crop and forest damage, limiting the need for pesticides. Also pollinators, bats play a critical role in our ecosystem. That system could get dangerously out of balance if WNS isn’t controlled.
An April 2011 report in Science Magazine estimated bats’ natural pesticide value to the agricultural industry at $22.9 billion per year. That doesn’t reflect the ecological value of reducing chemical pesticide use.
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