Fungus Among Us

                                    

The kingdom Fungi is separate from all other kingdoms (Plant, Animal, Protista, ect.), and includes yeasts, molds, and, of course, mushrooms. Fungi are extremely important to the planet's ecosystem, often decomposing dead material, or providing symbiotic support to other living organisms. We humans use fungi to ferment things like beer and soy sauce, as leavening for bread, for use as detergents, and to help us make antibiotic medicine. But fungus is not always beneficial. 

                              

Chytrids are a type of fungus, and they can be parasitic to animals. One chytrid by the name of "Bd" (the name itself is super long, Batradoodoo?... I don't know, I can't pronounce it) is affecting amphibian populations around the world. Amphibians absorb water and salts through their skin, but when Bd comes into the picture, it thickens their skin with keratin so that they can't, and the resulting electrolyte imbalance can kill the animal. It was only discovered in the 1990s, and now, more than 300 species are almost extinct because of it. 300 species. The spread of the disease moves rapidly, but we can help by disinfecting our shoes when moving from one outdoor area to another, not relocating amphibians, and of course, never release pets into the wild. Did I mention it might wipe out 300 species? Maybe even more? That's a big deal people. Just take a look at these scary ads I found: 

                       

Another fungus-caused problem is White-Nose Syndrome. The fungus itself is called G. destructans, and it hurts the bats by making them wake up from their torpor (deep sleep) because they need to itch and scratch themselves. Waking up more often burns body fat that they need, and the fungus itself also damages muscles and skin. Recovery rate is very slow because the bats affected usually only have one offspring per year. White-Nose Syndrome has the potential to wipe out half the bat species in North America. This fungal disease has already killed 5.7 million bats since 2006 in Eastern North America. That's comparable to the human population of Denmark. AKA lots of bats. Just like amphibians, bats help to control the insect population by feeding on them for hours every night. Want to help out? You can put up bat boxes in your yard or plant plants that attract moths for the bats to eat (this website has some good suggestions: http://www.mothscount.org/text/64/nectar_plants.html)

                                        

Thanks for reading everyone! If you're interested in more information, I've included my sources (so you know I'm not making things up either!). 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungus

http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/chytrid-fungus/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/121217-chytrid-fungus-amphibian-frog-crayfish-science/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population
http://www.batconservation.org/about-bats/conservation/white-nose-syndrome