Speckled glass frog in PanamaDOUGLAS WOODHAMSIn Panama, between 2004 and 2007, an outbreak of the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis resulted in countless salamander and frog fatalities. But certain species have since recovered, despite the continued presence of the pathogenic fungus responsible for the die-off. An investigation into both the pathogen and its hosts, reported in Science today (March 29), reveals that while the fungus remains as virulent as ever, the surviving host species are less susceptible.
“I see this as a fundamental discovery, and one that is positive and I am very optimistic about,” says Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance in New York, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting wildlife and public health from disease. “What the paper says is, there is hope that natural evolutionary processes will lead to some populations bouncing back. It’s very good news.”
The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which causes chytridiomycosis, infects the skin of amphibians, and so perturbs the animals’ osmotic regulation. The resulting imbalance of body fluids leads to organ failure and death. First identified in Australia and Central America in 1998, the disease has wreaked havoc across the globe, decimating species along the way, in part because of the movement of amphibians by ...
