Amphibian chytrid infection is influenced by rainfall seasonality and water availability

Author(s)

Ruggeri, Joice ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; de Carvalho-e-Silva, Sergio Potsch ^[1] ; James, Timothy Y. ^[4] ; Toledo, Luis Felipe ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biol, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Hist Nat Anfibios Brasileiros LaHNAB, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[4] Univ Michigan, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS; v. 127, n. 2, p. 107-115, JAN 31 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Amphibians suffer from a number of factors that make them the most threatened group of vertebrates. One threat is the fungal disease chytridiomycosis caused by the emerging pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has rapidly spread and caused the loss of massive amphibian biodiversity worldwide. Recently, Bd was associated with a few amphibian population declines and extinctions in some areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. However, the mechanisms underlying such declines are not fully understood. Therefore, it is essential to improve our knowledge of abiotic factors that can possibly influence Bd prevalence and chytridiomycosis disease severity. Herein we tested the hypothesis that water availability (such as in perennial streams, where Bd is frequently present in larvae) and rainfall would increase the prevalence of Bd. To test this, we sampled frogs from 6 transects with different numbers of perennial waterbodies, and we report that the more water available in the area, the higher the probability of Bd infection on anurans. Seasonality also influenced both the Bd prevalence in the area and the intensity of infection in infected frogs. However, Bd prevalence was higher during the rainy months whereas the infection burden was lower. We suggest that Bd is likely spread during the summer, when most anuran species gather near the water for spawning and when rainfall overfills ephemeral wetlands. On the other hand, during the drier months, a higher infection burden may be explained by increased disease susceptibility. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/25358-3 - The chytrid fungus: from its origins to its consequences
• Grantee: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/23388-7 - Comunication and sensory systems of the anurans of the Atlantic Forest
• Grantee: Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/01917-6 - Interaction between the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and the Ranavirus in anuran assemblages from the Southern Atlantic forest
• Grantee: Joice Ruggeri Gomes
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral