Fungal infection could wipe out some species of bats completely
Nearly six years after the discovery of a catastrophic fungal
infection that's decimating bat populations in the U.S. and
Canada, scientists have concluded that the disease is primarily
transmitted by highly social bats. But just because scientists
have a better handle on how bats spread the disease doesn't mean
there's good news. If anything, the discovery is leading
scientists to conclude that white-nose syndrome will likely
result in the outright extinction of certain bat populations.  A
single disease usually can't wipe out an entire species. Because
virtually every organism exhibits a wide array of variation
(random mutations) in its populations, there's always a good
chance that some members will survive a blight and pass on those
characteristics to surviving members. Even if the disease
afflicts 99% of a population, there's still a good chance that
the species can eventually survive.  Fungal infection could wipe
out some species of bats c