Populations of some bat species have plummeted more than 90 percent in Northeast
caves impacted by “White Nose Syndrome,” according to an extensive investigation by the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Commissioner Pete Grannis
announced today.

Surveying 23 caves at the epicenter of the bat die-off in early 2009, researchers found an
alarming decline – 91 percent on average -- in the number of hibernating bats. The study
included 18 caves in eastern New York, four in western Massachusetts and one in Vermont.

“These steep declines are alarming and disheartening,” Commissioner Grannis said.
“Researchers from around the country are focusing on the bat die-off and DEC will continue to
work with a wide range of partners to try to get to the heart of the problem.”
The study showed that not all species have reacted the same to White Nose Syndrome
(WNS). Species that prefer warmer, wetter roosting spots than other bats have been impacted
most severely. For example, the Little Brown bat has declined by an average of 93 percent (Little Browns account for 85 percent of all the bats that hibernate in the Northeast).

A separate survey of the endangered Indiana bat showed it declined 53 percent on
average. DEC bat specialist Alan Hicks said roost conditions may explain part but not all of the
difference -- Indiana bats prefer a colder, dryer hibernating spot than others. Also, the survey of Indiana bats found stark contrasts between sites. For example, two former mines in Ulster
County showed Indiana bat declines of 97 and 29 percent, respectively, with no obvious physical differences other than humidity.

The New York DEC has been at the forefront of the bat investigation along with federal officials, wildlife agencies and researchers from around the nation, since the disease was first discovered in some New York caves in winter 2006-07. The most obvious symptom involved in the die-off is a white fungus encircling the noses of some, but not all, of the bats. Called “White Nose Syndrome,” (WNS) the fungus (Geomyces destructans) is a prime suspect as a causative agent, although not yet confirmed. Impacted bats deplete their fat reserves months before they would normally emerge from hibernation, and die as a result.

More information is available at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals -- Jay Cassell