Extinct Monteverde golden toadIMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICEAmphibians that inhabit natural environments are more likely to be infected with the fatal Bd fungus that has devastated frog and salamander populations worldwide than those living in habitats disturbed by human development.
The results, published yesterday (May 30) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenge the assumption that habitat loss necessarily exacerbates the spread of disease.
"I don't think anyone will be going up in the mountains cutting down trees in the hopes of getting rid of Bd or anything," said Forrest Brem who researches amphibian epidemiology at the University of Memphis and was not involved in the research. "But I think this study will remind everyone how complex host-pathogen-environment systems are and encourage us to incorporate this complexity in their thinking, teaching, and research."
Bd (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) is a member of the chytrid fungus family, which attacks some 350 amphibian species. In the last 15 years, it has caused massive declines of amphibian ...
