Amphibian larvae benefit from a warm environment under simultaneous threat from chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis

Herczeg, Dávid; Holly, Dóra; Kásler, Andrea; Bókony, Veronika; Papp, Tibor; Takács-Vágó, Hunor; Ujszegi, János; Hettyey, Attila

doi:10.1101/2022.09.20.508725

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Juvenile agile frogs showed an intermediate level of resistance to the fungus, as out of the 50 animals experimentally exposed to Bd 18 returned Bd ‐positive swabs 5 days later. It is consistent with results obtained in field studies reporting low prevalence of Bd infection among adult agile frogs in natural populations (Baláž et al ., 2014; Vörös et al ., 2018), and is coherent with results of recent experimental studies also reporting low prevalence following experimental infection (Ujszegi et al ., 2021; Herczeg et al ., 2022). Clearly, the assessment of infection status using the noninvasive method of swabbing has its limits (Clare et al ., 2016), which is also supported by our result that three individuals that appeared to be Bd ‐negative before hibernation were positive after hibernation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chytridiomycosis and climate change: exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and mild winter conditions do not increase mortality in juvenile agile frogs during hibernation

Kásler

Holly

Herczeg

et al. 2023

Animal Conservation

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Hibernation is often associated with high mortality, especially during early life stages, and losses can be exacerbated by unusual winter conditions or if animals enter hibernation carrying a disease. Here, we examined how overwintering amphibians may be affected by the combined effects of mild winters, which are projected to increase in frequency due to climate change, and of chytridiomycosis, a disease that has contributed to the decline of hundreds of species worldwide. We exposed juvenile agile frogs Rana dalmatina to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, and subsequently subjected them to either a long, cold winter (1.5°C for 91 days) or a short, mild winter (4.5°C for 61 days) under laboratory conditions. Agile frogs proved to be highly resistant to Bd as only 37% of Bd‐exposed individuals became infected as determined before hibernation, and prevalence further decreased to 8% by the end of hibernation, with individuals showing very low infection intensity values. We observed lack of mortality in control and Bd‐exposed groups also, in both types of winter. The two types of winter we simulated did not result in differing body mass loss either alone or in combination with experimental infection. In the Bd‐exposed group, the two types of winter also did not cause differences in prevalence and infection intensity. However, among Bd‐exposed frogs, individuals that were Bd negative when entering hibernation lost more body mass than their conspecifics that carried the fungus at the onset of overwintering. Based on our results, warming winter climate conditions, with or without Bd infection, do not decrease body mass and survival rate of hibernating agile frogs, and do not increase susceptibility of individuals to chytridiomycosis. It remains to be seen to what extent the relatively weak effects of milder winters can be generalized to other amphibians of the temperate climate zone.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chytridiomycosis and climate change: exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and mild winter conditions do not increase mortality in juvenile agile frogs during hibernation

Kásler

Holly

Herczeg

et al. 2023

Animal Conservation

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“…Data are available from the Figshare Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21702218.v1 (Herczeg et al 2023).…”

Section: Author Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amphibian larvae benefit from a warm environment under simultaneous threat from chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis

Herczeg

Holly

Kásler

et al. 2023

Oikos

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Rising temperatures can facilitate epizootic outbreaks, but disease outbreaks may be suppressed if temperatures increase beyond the optimum of the pathogens while still within the temperature range that allows for effective immune function in hosts. The two most devastating pathogens of wild amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranaviruses (Rv), co‐occur in large areas, yet little is known about the consequences of their co‐infection and how these consequences depend on temperature. Here we tested how exposure to Bd and subsequent exposure to Rv, followed by treatment at elevated temperatures (28 and 30°C versus 22°C) affected Bd and Rv prevalence, infection intensities, and resulting mortalities in larval agile frogs and common toads. We found multiple pieces of evidence that the presence of one pathogen influenced the prevalence and/or infection intensity of the other pathogen in both species, depending on temperature and initial Rv concentration. Generally, the 30°C treatment lowered the prevalence and infection intensity of both pathogens and, in agile frogs, this was mirrored by higher survival. These results suggest that if temperatures naturally increase or are artificially elevated beyond what is ideal for both Bd and Rv, amphibians may be able to control infections and survive even the simultaneous presence of their most dangerous pathogenic enemies.

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Amphibian larvae benefit from a warm environment under simultaneous threat from chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis

Cited by 2 publications

References 78 publications

Chytridiomycosis and climate change: exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and mild winter conditions do not increase mortality in juvenile agile frogs during hibernation

Chytridiomycosis and climate change: exposure to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and mild winter conditions do not increase mortality in juvenile agile frogs during hibernation

Amphibian larvae benefit from a warm environment under simultaneous threat from chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis

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