Chapter 10- The New Pangaea

In March 2007 wildlife biologists went to conduct a bat census. What they found was shocking: thousands of dead bats everywhere and animals looked “as if they had been dunked, nose first, in talcum powder.” (194) The question arose: what caused so many bats to die off so quickly?  The white powder remained a mystery but was later found to be cold loving fungus ‘accidentally’ imported to U.S. probably from Europe dubbed Geomyces destructans. Charles Darwin theory of descent with modification discussed that each species arise at a single place of origin. More specifically, without human intervention long-distance travel for many species is impossible. Lands separated by oceans similar features but animals evolved overtime;variations in species mutations. Remixing native organisms let's non-natives outnumber natives.

Kolbert investigates the deaths of bats meeting up with Al Hicks, one of the scientists who had discovered the dead bats. Hicks took Kolbert to Adirondacks, the mountains where his team was conducting environmental tests. The group encountered many bats with white-nose syndrome although the fungus can spread to different parts of the animal’s body. Scientists still don’t understand how the fungus kills bats but what has been concluded is the fungus eats away at the bat's skin which may cause arousal and they use up fat stores meant for winter which can lead to starvation letting the animals lose moisture and become dehydrated and use up critical energy ending with death.

The movement of species is similar to Russian roulette. When a new organism shows up two things can happen: 1)nothing; 2) the newly introduced organism survives which gives rise to a new generation called “establishment.” Some species are able to proliferate because the species that has been transported has left many of its rivals and predators called “enemy release.” Sometimes in order to stop the spread of the species specialized predators are introduced which can lead to ecological disaster. Kolbert mentions an evolutionary arms race in which pathogens and their host must evolve simultaneously to prevent the other from getting too far ahead.  The following chapter continues Kolbert idea that invasive species are a mechanism of extinction because of humans altering natural systems. The author gives another example in page 204, “in the 1800s, the Amreican chestnut was the dominant deciduous tree in eastern forests...then, around the turn of the century, Cryphonectria parasitica, the fungus responsible for the chestnut blight, was imported to the U.S.,probably from Japan. Asian Chestnut trees, having co-evolved with Cryphonectria parasitica, were easily able to withstand the fungus, but for the American species it proved almost hundred lethal.” The following quote shows how transportation of certain organisms can be harmful it a newly introduced area. Humans trade and travel as they please which can transfer various harmful diseases affecting many plants and animals leading to their own demise.