Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Labels
- Animals (1)
- AP Exam study (10)
- assigments (6)
- assignments (1)
- Welcome Back (1)
Search This Blog
Garrett Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons
The Myth of the Tragedy of the Commons
Move the Megolith
The Meatrix Trilogy
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(81)
-
▼
February
(15)
- Tragedy question....let's get some good comments o...
- Thomas Malthus theory on population - does it diff...
- Readings......
- Earth Hour - 36 days and counting
- Some terms and an illustration that may help with ...
- Tragedy of the Commons? Really now, says who?
- The Lights of the Cities Go Dark.....How serious a...
- Rubber Duckie, you're the one.......
- NEW PROFILE PICTURES!!!!!!
- The Iceman says more than originally thought....
- APES in films and other endeavors
- Reading Assignment
- APES get to pondering as all good APES do...
- Assignment : Bats dying? So what? Big Deal?
- Assignment - Great Barrier Reef dying?
-
▼
February
(15)
One thing to consider about bats and why it is so important to not disturb them whle they are winter sleeping (by the way that is not the same as hibernation)is that if they wake up they use up so much energy that they canot survive the winter...sounds like what this disease does, but how do we research, test, treat if we cannot disturb them because of body fat/energy loss...will we be sentencing them to death either way ? Wonder how/why the fungus showed up now? What changed in the caves I wonder?
ReplyDeleteNot trying to be harsh, but I hate bats. The fact that they carry rabies makes them YUCK!! They are important though because I hate mosquitoes and they eat them :)! So therefore, they help with the wheat, and apples production...in order to figure out the case some will have to be put to death!!
ReplyDeleteI believe it appears now because we are damaging the atmosphere...
I really don't have a lot to say..maybe after others talk..i can add my opinion!
Well it says in the artical that they have done lab tests on bacteria that can live on the little brown bats and kill the white-nose fungus, and that they have put radio transmitters on twelve of them, but the only way to really research them, is to leave them be. We can't possibly disrupt their sleeping patterns because then we are going to kill them, but if we can get samples of the fungus, and find ways to possibly cure it, then we could possibly spray the caves and the bats with it so that it can fight the disease on them, the disease that has possibly mutated down further south, and the disease that is stuck to the sides of the caves. I think that the fungus might have showed up due to the change in temperature, even the slightest change in temperature or moisture can cause the growth of fungus, and since the bats live in the caves, they hinder the fungi's growth, therefore it adapted to make them sick, so they would die and so that the fungi would grow. Is that concept right?
ReplyDeleteMegan I agree with your point about the changes in temperatures. We can compare ourselves to that concept. Most people get sick during season change..from hot to cold weather..
ReplyDeleteAlso I agree with spraying them because then it will help them fight the bacteria!
The Northeast seems to be effected the most by white-nose syndrome, this leads me to believe that the location plays a large role in why this is occuring. Unfortunately, I think that in order to really get to the bottom of this rapidly spreading disease, it will have to be at the cost of some bats lives. Ultimately, it could end up saving the thousands of bats that are being lost each year. Also, if they take action during another season, that could be a solution to disturbing the bats during the Winter.
ReplyDeleteJustin says:
ReplyDeleteBats are believed to be harbinger’s of disease. There are various nasty diseases that are thought to be spread partly to bats. Numerous zoonotic pathogens are spread by bats including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), rabies and possibly even hemorrhagic fever (also known as Ebola virus). The mysterious ailment afflicting bats in New York State, however, is threatening to deplete the population of bats in and around New York State. Bats may seem like the creepy, blood-sucking vixens of the night, but in all reality, they play a pivotal part in keeping the insect population down. Without the bats to aid in insect control, crops could be damaged and mosquitoes may carry infectious diseases like the West Nile Virus (although relatively rare in the Northeast) later on as the spring and summer months progress. Scientists need to take a cross-section of the bat population (as it seems like they are already doing) in central New York and work together to find out exactly what this disease is and how it could affect the area before it is too late.
I think that you are right about the climate and you are unfortunately right about having to sacrifice some to learn to save the rest...what do the rest of you think?
ReplyDeleteBut isn't the prime time to figure out how this disease works during the winter months? Isn't that when they are supposedly dying from it the most? So how would cross sections during the summer months help to possibly find out what the disease is doing to them?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all the funny thing to me was that I read this article earlier in the day, before it was posted, while I was taking a break from homework and checking my email.
ReplyDeleteAs to the bat issue, bats being disease carrying blood suckers of the night is a common misconception. While yes they are known to carry disease, very few species of bats actually drink blood, most eat insects or fruit. Dealing with the white nose syndrome, the grim news is that some will have to be sacrificed for testing. Also while the spraying of the bats and caves with this bacteria will do some good, but the fact remains that there is no possible way that they can spray every cave and the majority of bats because there are caves and bats that are not known or accounted for. I am not faulting the attempts currently being made, but to me they just seem to be a temporary solution to stave off and slow down the death toll. Bats are important to the agricultural society so I believe it is of upmost importance that everything that can be done is done, but as the article says it will take time.
Plus is there not some form of vitamen, drug, or substitute that can be given to the bats that are being tested that will replentish any energy lost due to the disease? If so that would greatly reduce the death toll that will be added due to testing.
Take what bats you need to figure out what is doing this to them, because it is better to lose a few then to lose the whole population. That would mean a huge growth of insects in some areas and that probably be deadly to crops and the environment in the areas. And the idea of spraying them is a good idea but the fall backs of spraying is that it can wash off and may not stick and do any good. I know when we spray trees that we have to have so much dry time to let it take effect and work and if it rains then the process has to start all over. I believe conquering the fungus itself is a practical way to go. But what we also have to take in to consideration of the topic we tend to leave out, "is it a natural process that must occur?" If humans are not the culprit for the fungus then should we meddle in natures doings. That is just how i see things.
ReplyDeleteThis has been your depressing moment of the day courtesy of Christopher, i tend to have that effect as of what Matt says
Its alright Chris, were just spitting raw truth
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteWhat if we are? What if what Brittney said is right and climate change enhanced by humans is the root of the problem? Could we transplant the bats? Matt, You are right that there is no way to get every cave in every state....do we look for a genetic inhibitor? But what if Chris is right that it is a natural thing and the die off is not human induced...do we meddle? Look what happened with the cane toads and the rabbits' myxomytosis introduced into Australia....
Chris: you are a realist....
ReplyDeletepeople have a hard time hearing and accepting things that burst the little bubble world we like to live in.....
I see it how it is and how the problems actually have to be fixed instead of dreaming of a super speedy solution that won't ever come about. That's just me.
ReplyDeletei agree Brittaney and Megan that its most likely humans who have caused this problem. i think we should definitely kill a few bats in order to save the whole population. Has'ent our temperatures and climate even had an odd change since last year? I think for now through we should meddle in the bats business so we can see if it is our fault, if not we should leave them alone.
ReplyDeletesorry again yall my mom keeps forgetting to sign out of her account. By the way its Olivia
ReplyDeleteOf course bats are important to the ecosystem, if they gko then people would be at ahigh risk for mararia (?) and the west nile viris. also thanks to these little suckers we have less infected crops! anyways lossing the bats would lead to a butterfly effect (?) that could ultemetly hurt us humans.
ReplyDeletemaybe even enthropy has something to do with this.....
Bats are an important part of the ecosystem and if they all died out we would have an overrun of some species of insects along with mosquitoes. Just think about the fact kill a few to find a cure or let the whole bat population die out.
ReplyDeleteWell to all the ladies out there if I'm not mistaken bats do have other uses than eating bugs that destroy crops, I've been told that bat poop is used in many cosmetic products. Mostly in mascara.
ReplyDeletewho are you qt_pie9044?
ReplyDeletelol sorry it's sarah. I was on my ipod touch and i had tried making a google account and i accidentally used my yahoo account. :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Mascara? If your telling me that I have bat poop on my eyes everyday, that's just gross. I like the approach about putting a fugicide into a food source then allowing it to spread naturally from each bat population. Seems the most logical without all the strings attached.
ReplyDeleteAshton, a lot of make up is composed of insects and different materials from nature which many people would gag if they actually knew what was in it. A company behind Harris Teeter across the railroad tracks called Active Concepts actually mixes these components composed of all this natural material to ship it off the major make-up companies.
ReplyDeleteA cure to the disease needs to be discovered quickly in case the fungi is not the real cause of the disease, because once winter ends the conditions for the disease to spread will not be suitable. It would be devastating if the disease could not be contained and was a threat to bats next winter as well as the current one.
ReplyDeleteIf the disease decides to go dormant when winter ends I think that would be a good thing because we would have more time to investigate the issue and come up with a solution without the drastic loss of bat life.
ReplyDeleteIt probably wont hurt us right off the bat, no pun intended, but it will definitely hurt us. Bats do a lot for our ecosystems. If the bat populations start declining so will the hawks, owls, and every other carnivore that hunts them. I know several desserts farther south have huge bat populations that are a main source of food for endangered raptors. Not to mention, the bug numbers. Even if every bat in a local colony only ate one insect a night , that would still be several hundred bugs consumed. Given that they eat a lot more, we could have a serious bug problem if they disappear. The most direct problem though would be fertilizer, its not a big problem, but because we make money selling it, that will be the first problem people start to notice.
ReplyDeleteso i like how this conversation went from bats dying to wearing bat poop on your eyes..anyway. of course, humans probably had a little something to do with this and now we feel like it is our job to fix this when in reality, we are probably just making things worse. but by all means, i think that we should kill off a small number of them if it is going to mean that we can find a cure.
ReplyDeletei think that the bats are effecting us because if the disease is spreading among bats then maybe one day it might effect humans. also after winter ends it would be a good time to research the bats since it will not be disturbing them.
ReplyDeletei am with matt because while the disease dormit we should take advantage and try to figure out how to slow it or kill it. if we lose our bats then the insect will flourish because 7o percent of the bats are insectivores.
ReplyDeleteinsectivores...i like it jimmy
ReplyDeleteJimmy, that is a great word......way to GO!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with natalie that we are damaging our atmosphere and it is hurting these creatures.Even,now people are suffering from wacky temperature shifts.Sinusitis and other nasal issues were a big issue this winter due to days that didn't feel like winter and then days that felt like arctic tundra.Its no wonder these creatures have fell victim to unknown fungus in the caves.
ReplyDeletewell, I finally got around to blogging. There is not really much more to say, but we need to figure out what is causing the disease because we dont want all the bats to die. The last thing I want, or the world needs, is a lot more creepy-crawly things around.
ReplyDeleteIts the Butterfly effect everyone! if bats die, the delicate balance of the world is lost, and we would all suffer.
ReplyDelete