texascavers Digest 13 Mar 2009 21:39:12 -0000 Issue 723
Topics (messages 10327 through 10330):
Still more on "Cave House for Sale"
10327 by: Louise Power
Warm bat boxes on Science Friday
10328 by: Diana Tomchick
Bats and Rabies in Arlington
10329 by: R D Milhollin
heated bat boxes podcast
10330 by: Mixon Bill
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Saw this online today:
In this Feb. 26, 2009 file photo, the home of Curt and Deborah Sleeper is seen
in Festus, Mo. The eastern Missouri family expects they'll be able to stay in
the home built inside a cave after accepting an offer of a private mortgage
contract. Curt Sleeper said Tuesday, March 10, 2009 that a New Jersey-based
business, Logical Source Inc., offered a 15-year loan with a low interest rate
that should allow the family to keep their home.(AP Photo/Tom Gannam, File)
...and aren't we all glad?
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Sorry to be a bit late on this topic, but it's been a busy week. This
topic was covered last Friday on the radio talk show Science Friday
with Ira Flatow. You can download the podcast at
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200903063
In addition, if you go to the web site, there is a cool video to watch
of researchers Alan Hicks and Melissa Behr collecting samples of the
fungus from bats in a cave in NY state. These two scientists were two
of the authors of the Science paper on White-Nose Syndrome that I
mentioned here on CaveTex last week (Blehert D.S., Hicks A.C., Behr
M., Meteyer C.U., Berlowski-Zier B.M., Buckles E.L., Coleman J.T.H.,
Darling S.R., Gargas, A., Niver R., Okoniewski J.C., Rudd R.J., Stone
W.B. "Bat White-Nose Syndrome: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen?" Science
vol. 323, 9 JANUARY 2009, p. 227).
Admittedly the video shows the sort of science-geeky side of these two
researchers, but I'm used to seeing that kind of thing. :)
There are also images of the bat boxes on the web site. If you have
problems accessing the podcast (an mp3 file), email me and I'll send
it to you.
From the web site:
Caring for White-Nose Syndrome Bats (broadcast Friday, March 6th, 2009)
Bat colonies across the Northeast US have fallen victim to 'White Nose
Syndrome,' a lethal and mysterious condition. The syndrome is
characterized by a white, fuzzy fungal infection on bats in infected
colonies -- but bat specialists still aren't sure if the fungus is a
symptom of the syndrome, or its cause. Bats affected by the syndrome
appear to have difficulty conserving their energy during the cold
winter, causing them to starve to death.
Writing this week in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a
journal of the Ecological Society of America, a team of researchers
propose a dramatic stopgap measure to protect affected colonies --
building warm 'bat boxes' inside affected caves that would allow
affected bats to conserve their energy. We'll talk with researchers
about the idea and what, if anything, can be done to protect colonies
affected by the syndrome.
Guests:
Justin Boyles
Graduate Student
Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation
Department of Biology
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, Indiana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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)
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29669242
By Lita Beck
NBCDFW.com
Bat, Skunk From SE Arlington (Texas) Test Positive for Rabies
Health officials have confirmed two cases of rabies in Arlington, the city said
Thursday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed a bat and a skunk found
in the 76001 and 76002 zip codes tested positive.
The bat was found in the driveway of a home in the Camp Creek Drive area, and
the skunk was found in the back yard of a residence in the Sharon Lee Drive
area.
No humans or pets have been exposed, Arlington Animal Services said.
Health officials said bats and skunks are seldom out during the day. Those seen
during daylight hours may have rabies and should be reported to Animal Services.
The animals should not be approached. Arlington Animal Services said it should
be notified if people, pets or livestock come into contact with a skunk or a
bat, even if the animal has left the area.
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The phone-in skeptic "Bob of Maryland" in the podcast Diana steered us
to about the heated bat boxes sounds like Robert Thrun, in case
anybody wondered. -- Mixon
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He who renders warfare fatal to all engaged in it will be the greatest
benefactor the world has yet known. - Sir Richard Burton
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