Latest Chytridiomycota Stories

Wildlife Conservation Society A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), revealed in a new study, for the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians sampled in Singapore. And the American bullfrog may be a central player in the spread of the disease. The study appears in the current issue of the journal EcoHealth, and is the first to consider the role...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Climate change could cause parasites such as tapeworms to become more infectious or malignant, researchers from Oakland University and the University of South Florida claim in a new study gauging the impact of temperature swings on frogs' fungal infection rates. The research, which was published in Monday's edition of the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that tiny parasitic organisms likely have an easier time adapting to...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Critically endangered frogs rescued from possible extinction at the hands of a deadly fungus have successfully bred for the first time at the London Zoo, various media outlets reported Sunday. According to Telegraph Science Correspondent Richard Gray, the mountain chicken frogs had been rescued from the island of Montserrat, where they had been threatened by the spread of the Chytrid fungus. Chytridiomycosis, a disease associated...

A Yale graduate student has developed a novel means for charting the history of a pathogen deadly to amphibians worldwide. Katy Richards-Hrdlicka, a doctoral candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, examined 164 preserved amphibians for the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, an infectious pathogen driving many species to extinction. The pathogen is found on every continent inhabited by amphibians and in more than 200 species. Bd causes...

According to a new study, the fungal infection killing amphibians around the world is causing deadly dehydration in frogs in the wild. The scientists say that high levels of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the fungus known as the culprit behind the death of the frogs, disrupts fluid and electrolyte balance in the frogs.  As a result, the amphibians' sodium and potassium levels are depleted, causing cardiac arrest and death. San Francisco State University biologist Vance Vredenburg...

Known for its distinctive "ribbit" call, the noisy Pacific chorus frog is a potent carrier of a deadly amphibian disease, according to new research published today in the journal PLoS ONE. Just how this common North American frog survives chytridiomycosis may hold clues to protect more vulnerable species from the disease. Chytrid has wiped out more than 200 frog species across the world and poses the greatest threat to vertebrate biodiversity of any known disease. In California's Sierra...

According to new research, tropical regions with the richest diversity are most at risk of losing frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Scientists predict the future for these amphibians is even more bleak than conservationists had thought. They predict that areas with the highest diversity of amphibian species will be under the most intense threat in the future.  About half of amphibian species are in decline, while a third that are already threatened with extinction. The scientists...

According to new research, a killer frog fungus that is spreading around the world is being distributed through amphibian trade by zoos and collectors. Scientists said that the most widespread and lethal form of the three distinct lineages of the chytrid fungus was probably created by a crossing of two prior forms. Chytrid is now found on every continent and has wiped out a number of species. The fungus kills amphibians by blocking the transfer of vital substances through their...

Researchers at Oregon State University have shown for the first time that loss of biodiversity may be contributing to a fungal infection that is killing amphibians around the world, and provides more evidence for why biodiversity is important to many ecosystems. The findings, being published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used laboratory studies of amphibians to show that increased species richness decreased both the prevalence and severity of infection...

  Oregon State University (OSU) researchers have discovered a breed of freshwater zooplankton that they say can help combat a fungus that has been devastating amphibian populations around the world. According to the International Business Times, this particular species of zooplankton is known as Daphnia magna, a variety of aquatic flea from the genus Daphnia. They say that these organisms "could provide a desperately needed tool for biological control of the deadly fungus whose...