Journal Entry Ten(Chapter 10)-Ziomara Aguilar

In 2007, scientists in Albany New York found dead bast in a cave. They were dying off at an alarming rate due to a cold-loving fungus called Geomyces destructans. This is very similar to the golden frogs in the first chapter that had been dying off because of Bd. Something that is helpful to understanding the bats' deaths is Darwin's idea that states that most animals cannot travel long distances. This is so because of natural barriers like mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. Despite this, there are still many animals that can travel long distances over these barriers. During the Anthropocene, animals were spread around the world due to the actions of humans. Humans are able to travel and move animals, plants, and microbe into different environments. The fungus that had killed the bats was now moving into West Virginia and Kolbert meets with Al Hicks who is one of the scientists that discovered the bats in Albany. While they investigate, Kolbert begins to realize that humans are to blame for their deaths.
During the Anthropocene, species were moved around the world. When a species encounters a new environment, either nothing happens or the new environment kills the species. Majority of the time, the species cannot adapt quickly enough to survive. Sometimes even, a new species can wipe out a different species that was already there. The example that Kolbert mentions is the brown tree snake that was brought into a new environment in the 1940s. In a few years, the species had killed off a large amount of a native bird species. The bird that had been the brown tree snake's prey went extinct.
New pathogens(viruses, bacteria, and fungi) in a new environment can spread quickly and can lead to the near extinction of other life forms. These invasive species are able to travel thanks to human ingenuity. This chapter is another example of humans altering natural systems because humans bring in species to new environments which can kill off native organisms.