Media Release

For Immediate Release

November 27, 2008

Experts gather at Saint Mary’s to discuss impending bat crisis

Saint Mary’s is hosting a meeting today of more than 20 biologists, wildlife managers, researchers, pathologists and students from the four Atlantic Provinces to discuss a condition that could have a devastating affect on bat populations.

The condition is known as white-nosed syndrome. It’s emerging from the northeast United States and is wiping out tens of thousands of bats. The condition is expected to reach Atlantic Canada in the next few years.

The purpose of the meeting is to bring together all key regional experts to figure out what we should do to prevent the devastation of bats in this region. They will discuss the over-wintering sites used by bats in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, PEI and Nova Scotia. They will also talk in-depth about white-nose syndrome and possible management and monitoring options to combat the impact of the condition on regional bat populations.

The meeting will be held Nov. 27 starting at 10 a.m. in the McNally Boardroom at Saint Mary’s. It will be chaired by Dr. Hugh Broders, Chair of the Department of Biology at Saint Mary’s.

People wanting to know more about this issue and bats in our region, should plan to attend a free public lecture about bats that Dr. Broders will present on Dec. 1 at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History. Presented by the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, the lecture is called Life history and social ecology of Nova Scotian bats. It will be held in the Museum’s auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m.

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For more information:

Blake Patterson
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: blake.patterson@smu.ca
www.smu.ca