White-nose syndrome kills bats during hibernation. Because the bats under the Ann Richards Bridge migrate, they may be spared from getting the disease.

White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has decimated bat populations, is spreading in Texas. Scientists are trying everything from vaccines to UV lights to control the disease. Now, theyre asking the public for help.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has started accepting ideas to fight white-nose syndrome.If your idea is picked as one of the most promising, you could win up to $20,000 and work with scientists to test it out.

The website for the contestsays it is open to any idea to permanently eradicate, weaken, or disarm the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome.

Were trying to sort of not restrict the thinking on any of this, says Jonathan Reichard, assistant coordinator for the services national white-nose syndrome response. We really want very open minds on what ideas can come in.

Earlier this year, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced the fungus causing the disease had been found in 11 newcounties in the state, including the Bracken Bat Cave in San Antonio, the worlds largestbat colony.

That cave, like under the Ann Richards Bridge in Austin, is home to millions of Mexican free-tailed bats.

The good news is that Mexican free-tailed bats migrate during the winter rather than hibernate. And white-nose syndrome kills bats during hibernation, Jonah Evans, a mammalogist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, told KUT at the time.

While the bats are away, Texas Parks and Wildlife isdisinfecting manmade bat roostslike bridges in East Texas to see if it might slow or stop the spread of the fungus.

Reichard said researchers are also trying to figure out how some bats have managed to survive the plague of white-nose syndrome in the Northeast, where its impact has been nearly apocalyptic.

Theres ongoing work to figure out what it is thats helping those bats survive, he says. It could be anything from their physiology to the environment they chose to live in the winter time.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will accept ideas for its white-nose syndrome contest until the end of the year.

Go here to see the original:
Got An Idea To Save Bats From White-Nose Syndrome? The Government Wants To Hear It! - Houston Public Media