Journal Article

Nothing a hot bath won't cure: Infection rates of amphibian chytrid fungus correlate negatively with water temperature under natural field settings

Schlaepfer, Martin, College of Environmental Science and Forestry ; State University of New York (SUNY), Forrest, Mathiew J, Partial funding for this work was provided to MF by the Halliday Student Field Research Award from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and from the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Mini-grant. No additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript, Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography ; University of California [San Diego] (UC San Diego) ; University of California (UC)-University of California (UC)

2011

Overview

Dramatic declines and extinctions of amphibian populations throughout the world have been associated with chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease caused by the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Previous studies indicated that Bd prevalence correlates with cooler temperatures in the field, and laboratory experiments have demonstrated that Bd ceases growth at temperatures above 28uC. Here we investigate how small-scale variations in water temperature correlate with Bd prevalence in the wild. We sampled 221 amphibians, including 201 lowland leopard frogs (Rana [Lithobates] yavapaiensis), from 12 sites in Arizona, USA, and tested them for Bd. Amphibians were encountered in microhabitats that exhibited a wide range of water temperatures (10–50uC), including several geothermal water sources. There was a strong inverse correlation between the water temperature in which lowland leopard frogs were captured and Bd prevalence, even after taking into account the influence of year, season, and host size. In locations where Bd was known to be present, the prevalence of Bd infections dropped from 75–100% in water ,15uC, to less than 10% in water .30uC. A strong inverse correlation between Bd infection status and water temperature was also observed within sites. Our findings suggest that microhabitats where water temperatures exceed 30uC provide lowland leopard frogs with significant protection from Bd, which could have important implications for disease dynamics, as well as management applications. There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them - Sylvia Plath, ‘‘The Bell Jar’’ (1963).

• Publisher: CCSD,Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Amphibia / Amphibians / Amphibians - microbiology / Amphibians - physiology / Animal behavior / Animals / Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis / Biology / Bufo boreas boreas / Cellular Biology / Chytridiomycosis / Chytridiomycota - pathogenicity / Communicable diseases / Correlation / Correlation analysis / Disease control / Earth Sciences / Ecosystems / Endangered & extinct species / Extinct species / Extinction (Biology) / Frogs / Fungi / Geothermal energy / Hot Temperature / Infections / Infectious diseases / Laboratories / Laboratory experiments / Life Sciences / Logistic Models / Medical research / Microhabitats / Plath, Sylvia (1932-1963) / Rana onca / Rana yavapaiensis / Reptiles & amphibians / Temperature effects / Time Factors / Toads / Water - chemistry / Water sources / Water temperature / Wildlife conservation
• ISBN: 9780002991131, 0002991136