Begin forwarded message:
From: "rvanhoo" <[email protected]>
Date: March 24, 2010 6:25:45 PM CDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Restoration Field Camp] WNS moves west
Reply-To: [email protected]
Dunbar Cave is approximately 100 miles southwest of Mammoth Cave.
Dunbar Cave State Park Suspends Cave Tours
Released on Wed, Mar 24, 2010 - 11:37 am under
* Media Advisories
* Environment and Conservation
Bat in Dunbar Cave Tested Positive for White Nose Syndrome
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State Parks will suspend cave tours
at Dunbar Cave State Park after a bat from Dunbar Cave tested
positive for White Nose Syndrome. Other park activities and events,
including fishing, hiking and picnic facilities will remain open and
available to the public.
Dunbar Cave does not have a large bat population due, in part, to a
past fire and therefore, was not closed in 2009 when the state
closed public caves in an effort to protect Tennessee bat
populations from White Nose Syndrome. The cave is closed every year
from November through March to allow the limited number of bats that
are there undisrupted hibernation. It has not yet reopened for the
year, and has not hosted any public visitors over the winter.
The bat was discovered by researchers from Austin Peay State
University during a permitted research outing. Researchers have been
monitoring bats in the cave since 2006 to gather data on changes in
the bat population and roosting patterns over time, and to provide
an assessment of species diversity for each cave chamber.
Information gained from this cave research will assist the state in
management of the cave's resources.
Dunbar Cave is being closed indefinitely in an effort to take every
necessary precaution to isolate the fungus as much as possible in
order to protect bat populations at other nearby hibernacula,
recognizing that bat-to-bat transmission is still possible.
While endangered species of bats are not found in Dunbar Cave,
Tennessee is home to populations of endangered Indiana and gray
bats, which biologists fear could be potentially devastated by the
disease. The causes and transmission of White Nose Syndrome are
still being studied, but resource agencies are taking every
precaution to protect the species.
A multi-agency working group, consisting of federal and state
agencies and non-governmental organizations was formed last year to
coordinate the state's efforts to protect bats from White Nose
Syndrome. Last spring, the state of Tennessee, National Park
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Tennessee
Valley Authority closed caves on public lands in an attempt to slow
the spread of the fungus. The Nature Conservancy also closed caves
on their lands in Tennessee. Policies regarding Tennessee caves are
being reviewed and will be revised as new information warrants.
White Nose Syndrome causes bats to use up their fat reserves rapidly
during hibernation.
This causes affected bats to fly out of caves during winter in an
attempt to find food. Since the insects bats eat are seasonally
dormant, the bats die of starvation. Bats play a key role in keeping
insects, including agricultural pests, mosquitoes and forest pests,
under control.
There have been no reported human illnesses attributed to White Nose
Syndrome, and there is currently no evidence to suggest that it is
harmful to humans or other organisms.
This is the second confirmed occurrence of White Nose Syndrome in a
Tennessee cave. The first was reported by cavers at Worley's Cave in
Sullivan County and confirmed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency in February. Worley's Cave is on private property and is not
subject to the state's closure.
###
Tisha Calabrese-Benton
Communications Director
Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation
865.594.5442 - Knoxville Office
[email protected]
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Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
