It could be the beginning of a tale, yet the story is completely real and scientifically documented. According to a study published in Science As of Thursday, September 5, the decline in bat numbers in the eastern United States between 2006 and 2017 indirectly led to the deaths of approximately 1,334 children.
Beginning in the mid-2000s, bats fell victim to “white-nose syndrome,” an invasive fungus that wiped out entire colonies of these flying mammals in the eastern United States. UNITED STATES. Now, while they are not always very popular, bats provide many services because they ingest a large quantity of insects, including parasites and pests.
So, from the time the bat population began to decline, farmers in the affected areas increased their insecticide use by an average of 31 percent. At the same time, and in the same counties, the child mortality rate, excluding accidents and homicides, increased by 7.9 percent.
The health of ecosystems and humans closely intertwined
In order not to draw hasty conclusions, the author of this study published in Science (to consult herein English) evaluated and ruled out other hypotheses that could have explained these increases. In addition, monitoring of white-nose syndrome allowed comparisons of changes in counties where bats were affected and those where they were spared.
- RFI
