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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Fungal disease cluster in tropical terrestrial frogs predicted by low rainfall

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Author(s):
Moura-Campos, Diego [1, 2] ; Greenspan, Sasha E. [3] ; V. DiRenzo, Graziella [4] ; Neely, Wesley J. [3] ; Toledo, Luis Felipe [1, 2] ; Becker, C. Guilherme [3, 1]
Total Authors: 6
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Hist Nat Anfibios Brasileiros LaHNAB, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[3] Univ Alabama, Dept Biol Sci, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 - USA
[4] Penn State Univ, Dept Ecosyst Sci & Management, University Pk, PA 16802 - USA
Total Affiliations: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: Biological Conservation; v. 261, SEP 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

Anthropogenic forces are increasing climate anomalies and disease pressure in tropical forests. Terrestrialbreeding amphibians, a diverse group of highly endemic tropical frogs, have been experiencing cryptic population declines and extinctions, most of which have been retrospectively linked to climate anomalies and the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). However, the spatiotemporal drivers of Bd infection in these species are unresolved. We tracked microhabitat conditions and Bd dynamics in terrestrial-breeding frogs in Brazil's Atlantic Forest over an annual cycle that coincided with a period of low rainfall compared to historical averages. An increase in Bd prevalence during the warm/wet season was attributable to pathogen spillover from co-occurring aquatic-breeding frogs. The deficit in rainfall compared to historical trends was the best predictor of spikes in Bd infection loads one month later and mortality among heavily infected frogs two months later. We suggest that hydrological stress may intensify seasonal pathogen amplification in direct-developing frogs, to an extent that may trigger localized disease clusters or potentially shift disease dynamics from enzootic to epizootic, even in areas with a relatively long history of host-pathogen coexistence. (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: 19/18335-5 - Passive air transportation of an amphibian lethal pathogen in high elevation sites: practical applications for protected areas conservation in the State of São Paulo
Grantee:Luis Felipe de Toledo Ramos Pereira
Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants