cBELab, Architectural Engineering, Daejeon University, Yongun-dong, Dong-ku, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
dSouth-East Asia University, Bangkok, Thailand
Received 23 February 2005. Revised 20 August 2005. Accepted 26 August 2005. Available online 18 October 2005.
Abstract This paper presents investigation conducted in Thailand on the development of coconut coir-based lightweight cement boards (CCB). These boards were made from coconut coir, cement and water. They are intended to be used as building components for energy conservation. The investigations focused on parameters, mainly, fiber length, coir pretreatment and mixture ratio that affect the properties of boards. The physical, mechanical and thermal properties of the specimens were determined after 28 days of hydration. Results of this study indicated that the best pretreatment of coir fibers was to boil and wash them as it can enhance some of the mechanical properties of coir fiber. The optimum fiber length was 1–6 cm fraction, and optimum (cement:fiber:water) mixture ratio by weight was 2:1:2. The produced CCBs satisfied most recommended mechanical standards. In addition, investigation on thermal property of specimens revealed that coconut coir-based lightweight cement board has lower thermal conductivity than commercial flake board composite. That is an important feature to promote the use of CCB’s as energy saving material in buildings. Keywords
Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. 2(2):125-134.
Abstract
White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a wildlife health concern that has decimated cave-hibernating bat populations in eastern North America since 2006, began affecting source-caves for summer bat populations at Fort Drum, a U.S. Army installation in New York in the winter of 2007-2008. As regional die-offs of bats became evident, and Fort Drum's known populations began showing declines, we examined whether WNS-induced change in abundance patterns and seasonal timing of bat activity could be quantified using acoustical surveys, 2003-2010, at structurally uncluttered riparian-water habitats (i.e., streams, ponds, and wet meadows). As predicted, we observed significant declines in overall summer activity between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for little brown bats Myotis lucifugus, northern bats M. septentrionalis, and Indiana bats M. sodalis. We did not observe any significant change in activity patterns between pre-WNS and post-WNS years for big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus, eastern red bats Lasiurus borealis, or the small number of tri-colored bats Perimyotis subflavus. Activity of silver-haired bats Lasionycteris noctivagans increased from pre-WNS to post-WNS years. Activity levels of hoary bats Lasiurus cinereus significantly declined between pre- and post-WNS years. As a nonhibernating, migratory species, hoary bat declines might be correlated with wind-energy development impacts occurring in the same time frame rather than WNS. Intraseason activity patterns also were affected by WNS, though the results were highly variable among species. Little brown bats showed an overall increase in activity from early to late summer pre-WNS, presumably due to detections of newly volant young added to the local population. However, the opposite occurred post-WNS, indicating that reproduction among surviving little brown bats may be declining. Our data suggest that acoustical monitoring during the summer season can provide insights into species' relative abundance on the landscape as affected by the occurrence of WNS.
Ford, W.M.; Britzke, E.R.; Dobony, C.A.; Rodrigue, J.L.; Johnson, J.B. 2011. Patterns of acoustical activity of bats prior to and following white-nose syndrome occurrence. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. 2(2):125-134.
Last updated on: January 12, 2012
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https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/39844
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease causing unprecedented morbidity and mortality among bats in eastern North America. The disease is characterized by cutaneous infection of hibernating bats by the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans. Detection of G. destructans in environments occupied by bats will be critical for WNS surveillance, management and characterization of the fungal lifecycle. We initiated an rRNA gene region-based molecular survey to characterize the distribution of G. destructans in soil samples collected from bat hibernacula in the eastern United States with an existing PCR test. Although this test did not specifically detect G. destructans in soil samples based on a presence/absence metric, it did favor amplification of DNA from putative Geomyces species. Cloning and sequencing of PCR products amplified from 24 soil samples revealed 74 unique sequence variants representing 12 clades. Clones with exact sequence matches to G. destructans were identified in three of 19 soil samples from hibernacula in states where WNS is known to occur. Geomyces destructans was not identified in an additional five samples collected outside the region where WNS has been documented. This study highlights the diversity of putative Geomyces spp. in soil from bat hibernacula and indicates that further research is needed to better define the taxonomy of this genus and to develop enhanced diagnostic tests for rapid and specific detection of G. destructans in environmental samples.
Lindner, Daniel L.; Gargas, Andrea; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Banik, Mark T.; Glaeser, Jessie; Kunz, Thomas H.; Blehert, David S. 2011. DNA-based detection of the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans in soils from bat hibernacula. Mycologia. 103(2): 241-246.
Last updated on: October 20, 2011
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Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Research and Development. 18 p.
Abstract
The National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats (National WNS Plan), is a document prepared jointly by the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense, along with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. This document provides a strategic framework for the investigation and management of WNS, including key action items and the role(s) of agencies and entities involved in the continental effort. USFS has been a key partner in the development of this plan, and has been engaged in WNS management and science response since the beginning of the WNS outbreak in 2006. USFS R/D has been providing science products and partnership resources to help address the research, monitoring, management, and conservation needs.
Amelon, Sybill; Brooks, Robert T.; Glaeser, Jessie; Friggens, Megan; Lindner, Daniel; Loeb, Susan C.; Lynch, Ann; Minnis, Drew; Perry, Roger; Rowland, Mary M.; Tomosy, Monica; Weller, Ted. 2012. U.S. Forest Service Research and Development (USFS R/D) national science strategy on White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Research and Development. 18 p.
Last updated on: October 16, 2012
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https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/41786
White-nose syndrome (WNS) of bats, caused by the fungus previously known as Geomyces destructans, has decimated populations of insectivorous bats in eastern North America. Recent work on fungi associated with bat hibernacula uncovered a large number of species of Geomyces and allies, far exceeding the number of described species. Communication about these species has been hindered by the lack of a modern taxonomic evaluation, and a phylogenetic framework of the group is needed to understand the origin of G. destructans and to target closely related species and their genomes for the purposes of understanding mechanisms of pathogenicity. We addressed these issues by generating DNA sequence data for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, nuclear large subunit (LSU) rDNA, MCM7, RPB2, and TEF1 from a diverse array of Geomyces and allies that included isolates recovered from bat hibernacula as well as those that represent important type species. Phylogenetic analyses indicate Geomyces and allies should be classified in the family Pseudeurotiaceae, and the genera Geomyces, Gymnostellatospora, and Pseudogymnoascusshould be recognized as distinct. True Geomyces are restricted to a basal lineage based on phylogenetic placement of the type species, Geomyces auratus. Thus, G. destructans is placed in genus Pseudogymnoascus. The closest relatives of Pseudogymnoascus destructans are members of the Pseudogymnoascus roseus species complex,however, the isolated and long branch of P. destructansindicates that none of the species included in this study are closely related, thus providing further support to the hypothesis that this pathogen is non-native and invasive in eastern North America. Several conidia-producing isolates from bat hibernacula previously identified as members of Pseudeurotium are determined to belong to the genus Leuconeurospora, which is widespread, especially in colder regions. Teberdinia hygrophila is transferred to Pseudeurotium as Pseudeurotium hygrophilum, comb. nov., in accordance with the one name per fungus system of classification, and two additional combinations are made in Pseudogymnoascus including Pseudogymnoascus carnis and Pseudogymnoascus pannorum. Additional sampling from other regions of the world is needed to better understand the evolution and biogeography of this important and diverse group of fungi.
Minnis, Andrew M.; Lindner, Daniel L. 2013. Phylogenetic evaluation of Geomyces and allies reveals no close relatives of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, comb. nov., in bat hibernacula of eastern North America. Fungal Biology. 117: 638-649.
Last updated on: September 13, 2013
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Res. Pap. NRS-24. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 17 p.
Abstract
In the central Appalachians, conservation concern about bat communities and their population status has become increasingly more significant with the advent and spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS). However, managers often are hampered in their response to WNS by the lack of information on pre-WNS local distribution, abundance, or activity patterns for most bat species. At the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), Tucker County, WV, where bat research has been conducted since the mid-1990s, we acoustically monitored bat activity a total of 20 nights each at four sites for 4 years—3 years before and 1 year after WNS was detected—to better assess those local patterns. Within sampling nights, activity of northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) peaked directly after sunset and declined throughout the night, whereas activity of little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) had a unimodal distribution that peaked in the middle of the night. Activity of many bat species differed among sample sites and was highest at a small, artificial pond located on a dry ridgetop. Activity of little brown myotis, northern myotis, and Indiana myotis was lower post-WNS than pre-WNS, consistent with the species' precipitous declines previously reported in WNS-affected areas in the Northeast and upper portions of the Mid-Atlantic.
Johnson, Joshua B.; Rodrigue, Jane L.; Ford, W. Mark. 2013. Nightly and yearly bat activity before and after white-nose syndrome on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. Res. Pap. NRS-24. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 17 p.
Last updated on: September 30, 2013
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