Investigating the presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus in a non-native species

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Studies about Chytrids are important, but I have several questions about this project that make me wonder whether it is worth funding: (1) why do you focus on these toads? How do you establish that they brought the chytrid? [they could have received it from native species] (2) how does this compare to other species in the same habitat/region? (3) If they have chytrids what then? Are they automatically guilty killing native amphibians? I also would love to see some citations for example "200 species went extinct" etc.

Sep 13, 20170

Steven J R AllainResearcher

Hi Peter, thank you for raising some questions - I'm more than happy to answer them for you. We're focusing on the toads as we have reason to believe that they were introduced from somewhere in Spain (waiting for the results of our genetic analysis to confirm this) and virulent strains of the chytrid fungus have caused declines in the species (and others) there. You can find out more by reading this article and others like it: Bosch, J., Martı́nez-Solano, I., & Garcı́a-Parı́s, M. (2001). Evidence of a chytrid fungus infection involved in the decline of the common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) in protected areas of central Spain. Biological conservation, 97(3), 331-337. They could have been infected with chytrid from a native source but we have no evidence to suggest the native amphibians are currently infected. If positive results do come back from the midwife toads then we aim to look at the lineage of Bd to try to work out its origins. If they do turn out to be infected with a virulent strain which threatens local species then mitigation will need to be put in place to ensure the disease does not spread. In terms of the loss of species due to chytrid I'd recommend this nice summary: Wake, D. B., & Vredenburg, V. T. (2008). Are we in the midst of the sixth mass extinction? A view from the world of amphibians. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 11466-11473. If you have any other questions or if you feel like I haven't answered yours fully then please let me know. Steve

Sep 13, 20170

Peter BeerliBacker

Thanks Steve, this helps, I would suggest collecting samples of native amphibians at the site of the mid-wive toads and in the surroundings at the same time (I am aware that there is no money for that yet -- I assume once you have samples you always can test later), but this would allow you to have a clear time point to compare the Bd strains in both groups (if any) and if there is no Bd in the natives at the same site but finding Bd in the toads then the study a great first time points for further monitoring (and getting money through more standard channels). Thanks again, Peter

Sep 13, 20170

Steven J R AllainResearcher

You're very welcome Peter and thanks for your donation. Your suggestion is something we intend to do but due to the highly enclosed area where the midwife toads are, native amphibian species are very rarely seen. Common frogs (Rana temporaria) are the next most commonly observed species after the midwife toad and unfortunately tests have revealed that swabbing them for Bd isn't reliable. The other species however are on our radar.

Sep 13, 20170

Jelmer GroenBacker

Good luck guys!

Aug 29, 20170

Mark James GoodmanResearcher

Thanks Mikaella. Looking forward to co-presenting with Steve regarding this project at the joint scientific meeting in December.

Aug 25, 20170

Mikaella LockBacker

What a refreshing project - and such an important one. I am very much looking forward to seeing the results of this. Best of luck to two very dedicated researchers.

Aug 23, 20171