Experimental Infection of Native North Carolina Salamanders With Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis

Chinnadurai, Sathya K.; Cooper, David; Dombrowski, Daniel S.; Poore, Matthew F.; Levy, Michael G.

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-45.3.631

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…First, Bd has been present in the Appalachians at least since the 1970s [21] and most surveys for Bd across the eastern US have produced prevalence estimates of 10–40% (e.g., [22]–[26]). Second, in laboratory infection trials Plethodon salamanders are susceptible to Bd [27], [28] and some die from Bd infection [29]. Third, the environment in which Plethodon salamanders live is suitable for Bd [9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected Rarity of the Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Appalachian Plethodon Salamanders: 1957–2011

et al. 2014

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Widespread population declines in terrestrial Plethodon salamanders occurred by the 1980s throughout the Appalachian Mountains, the center of global salamander diversity, with no evident recovery. We tested the hypothesis that the historic introduction and spread of the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) into the eastern US was followed by Plethodon population declines. We expected to detect elevated prevalence of Bd prior to population declines as observed for Central American plethodontids. We tested 1,498 Plethodon salamanders of 12 species (892 museum specimens, 606 wild individuals) for the presence of Bd, and tested 94 of those for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bs) and for ranavirus. Field samples were collected in 2011 from 48 field sites across a 767 km transect. Historic samples from museum specimens were collected at five sites with the greatest number and longest duration of collection (1957–987), four of which were sampled in the field in 2011. None of the museum specimens were positive for Bd, but four P. cinereus from field surveys were positive. The overall Bd prevalence from 1957–2011 for 12 Plethodon species sampled across a 757 km transect was 0.2% (95% CI 0.1–0.7%). All 94 samples were negative for Bs and ranavirus. We conclude that known amphibian pathogens are unlikely causes for declines in these Plethodon populations. Furthermore, these exceptionally low levels of Bd, in a region known to harbor Bd, may indicate that Plethodon specific traits limit Bd infection.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unexpected Rarity of the Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Appalachian Plethodon Salamanders: 1957–2011

et al. 2014

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“…We determined whether any parts of the study area were within the environmental niche of Bd, using Maxent (version 3.3.0; Phillips et al, 2006) to model environmental suitability based on 75 Bd+ locations from the United States (http:// www.bd-maps.net/; Chatfield et al, 2009;Chinnadurai et al, 2009). We followed the methods of Murray et al (2011) and used all 19 bioclimatic variables (c. 5-km resolution; Hijmans et al, 2005) to generate the initial model.…”

Section: Spatial Taxonomic and Threat-specific Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Truly enigmatic declines in terrestrial salamander populations in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Caruso

Lips

2012

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim Woodland salamanders (genus: Plethodon) declined synchronously across many protected areas in Eastern North America by the mid‐1980s, but no cause was attributed to these declines. We hypothesized that the rapid, synchronous loss of several populations of many species was consistent with the invasive pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd), and we resurveyed historic sites to search for Bd in current populations. Location Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Methods We surveyed 35 sites 2–4 times between March and November 2009, quantified community composition and abundance of 72 populations of six species and three hybrids of Plethodon salamanders, and collected 665 skin swabs to detect Bd. Results At 22 of the 35 sites, we were unable to find one or more species that were historically present. Plethodon glutinosus and P. teyahalee and their hybrids were less abundant than historically found, P. jordani x metcalfi and P. ventralis were more abundant and the remaining three species fluctuated but showed no net change. Yet, only one of the 665 salamanders was positive for Bd. Main conclusions Declines were not associated with particular localities, but occurred in particular species. We conclude that over collecting, logging, and acid rain are unlikely to have caused these population declines, but we were unable to rule out disease or climate change as contributing factors. Population declines of Plethodon salamanders in the Park are substantial and have persisted for 30 years. Determining the cause and the extent of these declines is important for managing this area of global salamander biodiversity.

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“…Chytridiomycosis dramatically disturbs the skin function [10], [11] and thus compromises respiration. Therefore, chytrid infections in Speleomantes should result in rapid killing of the plethodontid host, as has been hypothesized to be the case for several declining neotropical plethodontids and demonstrated in some, but not all [12], North American species [13]–[16]. Although different infection protocols have been used in these studies, they clearly demonstrate that some New World plethodontid species are easily colonized by the fungus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Resistance to Chytridiomycosis in European Plethodontid Salamanders of the Genus Speleomantes

et al. 2013

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North America and the neotropics harbor nearly all species of plethodontid salamanders. In contrast, this family of caudate amphibians is represented in Europe and Asia by two genera, Speleomantes and Karsenia, which are confined to small geographic ranges. Compared to neotropical and North American plethodontids, mortality attributed to chytridiomycosis caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has not been reported for European plethodontids, despite the established presence of Bd in their geographic distribution. We determined the extent to which Bd is present in populations of all eight species of European Speleomantes and show that Bd was undetectable in 921 skin swabs. We then compared the susceptibility of one of these species, Speleomantes strinatii, to experimental infection with a highly virulent isolate of Bd (BdGPL), and compared this to the susceptible species Alytes muletensis. Whereas the inoculated A. muletensis developed increasing Bd-loads over a 4-week period, none of five exposed S. strinatii were colonized by Bd beyond 2 weeks post inoculation. Finally, we determined the extent to which skin secretions of Speleomantes species are capable of killing Bd. Skin secretions of seven Speleomantes species showed pronounced killing activity against Bd over 24 hours. In conclusion, the absence of Bd in Speleomantes combined with resistance to experimental chytridiomycosis and highly efficient skin defenses indicate that the genus Speleomantes is a taxon unlikely to decline due to Bd.

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Experimental Infection of Native North Carolina Salamanders With Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Unexpected Rarity of the Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Appalachian Plethodon Salamanders: 1957–2011

Unexpected Rarity of the Pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Appalachian Plethodon Salamanders: 1957–2011

Truly enigmatic declines in terrestrial salamander populations in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Resistance to Chytridiomycosis in European Plethodontid Salamanders of the Genus Speleomantes

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