Local cave explorers raising money to find what's killing bats

A fungus affecting several species of endangered bats is causing officials to close publicly owned caves, but instead of complaining, local cave explorers are donating to research funds and making sure they don't spread the fungus when they explore.

Among them are the members of the Sub-Urban Chicago Grotto of the National Speleological Society, a caving club that meets in Naperville.

"It's hard to explain to Chicago people who don't know or probably care too much about caves that this is a vital part of our ecosystem," said Gary Gibula, chairman of the local group.

Called white nose syndrome, the affliction was first discovered among bats in one New York cave in 2006. It has since spread to eight other states, and causing cave closings in Illinois and other states.

Although cave closures caused by the syndrome hamper their pastime, local cave explorers say they understand the syndrome may have devastating effects on bat populations, insect populations and the entire food chain.

"Any good, conscientious caver would not enter any cave with bats going in and out of it," Gibula said.

Cavers and scientists are concerned that humans may carry the fungus suspected to cause the syndrome on their gear, spreading it from cave to cave. Once bats in a cave contract the syndrome, about 95 percent of them burn too much fat while hibernating and die, according to Bat Conservation International. This includes Indiana bats and gray bats, two endangered species that are contracting the syndrome.

Money raised by nonprofit groups is vital because white nose syndrome research is not receiving much government funding, said Bob Locke, Bat Conservation International's director of publications. He said the group has given about $125,000 to researchers attempting to evaluate the cause of the syndrome, its effect on how infected bats burn energy and whether its spread can be stopped.

Gibula said his group of 25 cavers runs on a budget of about $150 per year, but donated one third of its treasury to a white nose syndrome response fund set up by the National Speleological Society. The Windy City Grotto, which meets in Palatine, also made a donation, said Chairman Fred Schumann.

"It's a little more difficult to help or volunteer because the problem isn't in our direct vicinity," Schumann said. "It's difficult to put in man hours."

Gibula said donating money may be the best way for suburban cavers to contribute to understanding white nose syndrome.

In northern Illinois, bats keep insect populations down by preying on them and also support larger animals such as owls and coyotes by becoming their prey, said Allison Frederick, environmental communication specialist for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

Experts worry white nose syndrome will spread to Illinois, but it is hard to determine whether area bats will contract it, said Tim Preuss, wildlife biologist for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Still, Preuss said it is unlikely the colony of little brown bats that spends the summer at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda will become infected.

As a precaution to protect area bats, the east region office of the National Forest Service closed all caves and mines on National Forest System land for a year beginning April 24, wildlife ecologist John Curnutt said. Thousands of caves from Minnesota to Maine and Missouri to West Virginia are closed unless marked open.

The Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois also closed nine caves that host bat populations, said wildlife biologist Steve Widowski.

"Cave closures are erring on the safe side in that what we do know about this fungus is it can be transmitted by people," Curnutt said. "A lot of consideration had to be put into that because there's people that have recreational needs."

Still, cavers Gibula and Schumann say they are willing to follow all guidelines and precautions about cave access and gear sanitation.

"You can't stop the bats, but you can stop the cavers," Locke said, about the rationale behind cave closures. "Maybe that helps, maybe it doesn't. If it helps, it saves some bats; if it doesn't it's inconvenienced some cavers."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Bats in the 'burbs</p> <p class="News">• Seven types of bats can be found in the Chicago area. Three are common, while four briefly migrate through the area. Endangered Indiana bats and gray bats do not come through northern Illinois.</p> <p class="News">• Bats "are a major part of the food chain because they control insect populations," said Allison Frederick, environmental communication specialist for the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Bats also serve as food for larger predators such as owls, raptors, foxes and coyotes.</p> <p class="News">• Only little brown bats hibernate in the area, choosing attics, church steeples and dens built by other animals in the absence of caves.</p> <p class="News">• The nearest caves are in northwestern Illinois near the Mississippi River and in south central Wisconsin near Madison. Some caves in both regions host bat populations.</p> <p class="News">• Bats are the only mammal with wings. Their wings are essentially large hands with long finger bones and a membrane stretched between them.</p> <p class="News">• Bats' echolocation system helps them find food in the dark and avoid obstacles as thin as a human hair.</p> <p class="News">• A female bat can have one baby each year, usually weighing about 25 percent of her body weight. That's as if a 130-pound woman had a 321/2-pound baby.</p>