Occurrence of the Amphibian Pathogen Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis in the Pacific Northwest

Chytridiomycosis (infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has been associated with amphibian declines in at least four continents. We report results of disease screens from 210 pond-breeding amphibians from 37 field sites in Oregon and Washington. We detected B. dendrobatidis on 28%...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of herpetology 2007-03, Vol.41 (1), p.145-149
Main Authors: Pearl, Christopher A, Bull, Evelyn L, Green, David E, Bowerman, Jay, Adams, Michael J, Hyatt, Alex, Wente, Wendy H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
Auroras
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
CONSERVATION
Conservation biology
Depopulation
Environmental conservation
Fungal infections
Infections
Infectious diseases
Larvae
Pathogens
Rana aurora
Rana catesbeiana
Rana luteiventris
Rana pretiosa
Shorter Communications
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Summary:Chytridiomycosis (infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has been associated with amphibian declines in at least four continents. We report results of disease screens from 210 pond-breeding amphibians from 37 field sites in Oregon and Washington. We detected B. dendrobatidis on 28% of sampled amphibians, and we found ≥ 1 detection of B. dendrobatidis from 43% of sites. Four of seven species tested positive for B. dendrobatidis, including the Northern Red-Legged Frog (Rana aurora), Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris), and Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa). We also detected B. dendrobatidis in nonnative American Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) from six sites in western and central Oregon. Our study and other recently published findings suggest that B. dendrobatidis has few geographic and host taxa limitations among North American anurans. Further research on virulence, transmissibility, persistence, and interactions with other stressors is needed to assess the potential impact of B. dendrobatidis on Pacific Northwestern amphibians.
ISSN:0022-1511
1937-2418
DOI:10.1670/0022-1511(2007)41[145:OOTAPB]2.0.CO;2