White-nose syndrome obliterating entire species of bats. Chytridiomycosis devastating frogs and salamanders worldwide. Snake fungal disease, a devastating ailment that has just shown up in New England. The fungus carried by emerald ash borers that are wiping out all ash trees in North America.
And now a fungal disease that it affecting our porcupines, a topic I wrote about in this week’s GraniteGeek column.
What’s going on? Why is this often-overlooked kingdom that gave us wonderful things like beer and bread (thanks, yeast!) turning on us?
Climate change – warmer, wetter – and globalization, of course.
To find out more, including how UNH research found the porcupine disease using new molecular-analysis techniques developed at Cornell, check the column.
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