What does your neighborhood sound like

[Trainer Monkey]

Hows those bats TM?

Wont really know until spring,theyre hibernating right now,and nobody is too keen on mucking about in a hibernaculum at the moment. It could have run its course. But Id feel alot more confident about saying that if any of the experts Im friends with,could agree on what in the hell it is. Basically,we've heavily discussed and debated for close to a year now,and still arent sure if the fungus that gives the disease its name,is even the disease,or just a symptom
Sort of a life lesson for man and mankind,we're used to thinking we can figure out everything sooner or later,especially in our area of expertise,we cant even figure out what the disease actually is,let alone how to treat it

[Andre]

So its a fungus? I remember you said a white powder like substance.
Has the temperature increased and effected the caves temp to trigger the growth?
whats the temps for last ten years in the area or the humidity more so, has it raised allot?

[Trainer Monkey]

So its a fungus? I remember you said a white powder like substance.
Has the temperature increased and effected the caves temp to trigger the growth?
whats the temps for last ten years in the area or the humidity more so, has it raised allot?

This where it gets confusing,we arent sure if the fungus is just a symptom, or the disease itself. The caves themselves havent shown a large increase in temperature. One theory is because of increased temperatures, theyre coming out of hibernation too early. The other things they get is a massive weight loss,and pneumonia. And it is notable that the big brown species doesnt seem to be getting it. Big browns are one of the few species that will snap out of hibernation in mid winter,and they dont seem to be getting it. So it could be a sign that theyre blowing their fat stores too early by coming out of hibernation too soon.
But at the end of the day,as of right now,we really dont know what it is. Alot of money has been spent to try and figure this out,and the best thing we've come up with,is decontaminate your gear after your done in there doing research,so you dont spread it.

[Andre]

Has it spread far to other states or is it contained in one area Tm?

[Trainer Monkey]

Has it spread far to other states or is it contained in one area Tm?

Now we have touched on problem 2
In one year it spread from New England all the way to WV,so we dont know if its migratory born,or is it human contamination.
Bats will migrate a little,and could in theory pass it down the chain, but cave explorers also will hit numerous systems in a year,and in multiple states.
Now,I'll admit my expertise in the area is species identification while doing bat counts, but I find it seriously troubling that the people whose word I take as gospel usually,all disagree right now. And to make it worse,all of their theories are completely credible.
Ive caved for most of my adult life,and have been published in all the major caving publications,and Im telling you blunt, we really dont know. All we really know is the symptoms,and that the kill ratio for a bat colony can run as high as %90. There have even been reports that its jumped over to Europe,that may be alarmist,I didnt get to check the bats myself,and didnt know the people who claimed it so I cant take it on faith.
I know alot of people dont like,or are afraid of bats,its a phobia that our culture pushes. But they are amazingly beneficial little things. They eat the bug that causes most of our airborn diseases.
Im still worryed about this for obvious reasons,and Im even more worried that all of the people in the field, that know more then I do by far,cant even agree on what it is.It doesnt seem to transmit in to humans, but there are all kinds of things that mosquitos carry that can,and less bats=more mosquitos

[JazMerkin]

Pretty noisy round here. Lot of police sirens, you can pretty much hear one throughout most of the day. There always seems to be some commotion goin on. There's noise from the people who live in the flats above us on all sides, although on the plus side I live on the bottom level of the block so at least I ain't got noise comin out from underneath me like everyone on all the floors above do. But yeah there's pretty much constant noise round here, it's quite weird because my gran lives out near Southampton & I find it impossible to sleep there because it's too quiet for me

smashup

Whereabouts was you from in North? I got some family in Tottenham.