Jonathan Kolby, a policy specialist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the director of the Honduras Amphibian Rescue & Conservation Center, studies the global spread of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Chytrid is a waterborne pathogen that causes chytridiomycosis in amphibians, a skin infection that can lead to lethargy and death. Kolby was part of a team that conducted a global assessment of chytrid infection released in Science earlier this year. The researchers found that over the past 50 years, chytrid has had a role in the decline of at least 501 species of amphibians worldwide, which include 90 species thought to be extinct.
Kolby photographed the mossy red-eyed frog (Duellmanohyla soralia) in the above photo as part of his research at a field site in Cusuco National Park, Honduras. In a September 19 tweet, he describes how the frog is “floating” on the spiky hairs of a ...
