Research team explores how microbial diversity defends against disease
Amphibians are among the most threatened creatures on earth, with some 40 percent of amphibian species threatened or endangered. One of their primary threats is a rapidly spreading disease that attacks...
View ArticleCommon North American frog identified as carrier of deadly amphibian disease
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...
View ArticleBlood samples show deadly frog fungus at work in the wild
The fungal infection that has killed a record number of amphibians worldwide leads to deadly dehydration in frogs in the wild, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley and San...
View ArticleGlobal bullfrog trade spreads deadly amphibian fungus worldwide
(Phys.org) -- The global trade in bullfrogs, which are farmed as a food source in South America and elsewhere, is spreading a deadly fungus that is contributing to the decline of amphibians worldwide,...
View ArticleEndangered mountain yellow-legged frogs might get a hoppy ending
To reach one of the last wild populations of the mountain yellow-legged frog on Earth, Adam Backlin and Elizabeth Gallegos tramped down a no-nonsense trail, scaled cliffs and barged through nettles...
View ArticleChilean biologist saving forests with frogs
(Phys.org)—Chilean biologist Virginia Moreno is besotted with frogs. So much so that she is taking on the might of the forestry industry to study one frog in particular – Chile's critically endangered...
View ArticleResearchers help 'extinct in the wild' toad return home
(Phys.org)—Scientists from the University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory have helped to reintroduce a species of toad declared extinct in the wild to its native range-the world's first...
View ArticleFrog killing fungus found to infect crayfish too
(Phys.org)—A team of US biologists has found that the chytrid fungus, believed to be responsible for amphibian deaths worldwide, also infects and kills crayfish. In their paper published in the...
View ArticleGenetic matchmaking saves endangered frogs
What if Noah got it wrong? What if he paired a male and a female animal thinking they were the same species, and then discovered they were not the same and could not produce offspring? As researchers...
View ArticleNew study detects deadly fungus in Southeast Asia's amphibian trade
(Phys.org) —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...
View ArticleFatal fungus found in third major amphibian group, caecilians
It is known as the amphibian chytrid fungus and can cause a deadly disease that is decimating some of the world's frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. However, the fungus had not been detected in the...
View ArticleBullfrogs may help spread deadly amphibian fungus, but also die from it
Amphibian populations are declining worldwide and a major cause is a deadly fungus thought to be spread by bullfrogs, but a two-year study shows they can also die from this pathogen, contrary to...
View ArticleNew insights in the evolution of disease virulence from frog killing fungus
The chytrid fungus is responsible for the major decline in frog populations most notably in Australia and Central America.
View ArticleEarly-life exposure of frogs to herbicide increases mortality from fungal...
The combination of the herbicide atrazine and a fungal disease is particularly deadly to frogs, shows new research from a University of South Florida laboratory, which has been investigating the global...
View ArticleSample of a frog's slimy skin predicts susceptibility to disease
A simple sample of the protective mucus layer that coats a frog's skin can now be analyzed to determine how susceptible the frog is to disease, thanks to a technique developed by a researcher at the...
View ArticleCall put out to eradicate invasive toad from Madagascar before it wreaks...
(Phys.org) —James Cook University conservationist Jonathan Colby has published a Correspondence piece in the journal Nature, warning of environmental damage to the unique wildlife on the island of...
View ArticleRare frogs holding their own despite drought conditions
A recent survey of mountain yellow-legged frogs released into the wild by San Diego Zoo Global wildlife conservationists indicates that the populations are showing signs of stress related to drought...
View ArticleResearch team is hell-bent on saving hellbender salamanders
Snot otter. Devil dog. Mud devil. The eastern hellbender – a freshwater salamander that can grow to more than two feet long – has a collection of folksy aliases and oversized charisma. The giant...
View ArticleAmphibian chytrid fungus reaches Madagascar
The chytrid fungus, which is fatal to amphibians, has been detected in Madagascar for the first time. This means that the chytridiomycosis pandemic, which has been largely responsible for the...
View ArticleComplex bacterial challenge in fight against deadly amphibian disease
New research from The University of Manchester and the Institute of Zoology has shed light on the complex challenge facing scientists battling one of the world's most devastating animal diseases.
View ArticleSome frogs surviving deadly chytrid fungus infection
Australian scientists have found that some native frogs are winning their war against the world's most devastating frog-killer – the chytrid fungus – while others are losing it.
View ArticleScientists urge ban on salamander imports to fend off deadly fungus
Five California amphibian experts warn that a recently discovered fungus already devastating salamanders in Europe could imperil American salamanders, and urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to...
View ArticleResearch could lead to protective probiotics for frogs
In research that could lead to protective probiotics to fight the "chytrid" fungus that has been decimating amphibian populations worldwide, Jenifer Walke, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Virginia...
View ArticleResearchers examine whether beneficial bacteria could rescue threatened...
Skin bacteria could be the best defense that frogs and salamanders have for protection against dangerous diseases like chytrid fungus.
View ArticleA village of bacteria to help frogs fight disease
The naturally occurring bacteria on a frog's skin could be the most important tool for helping the animal fight off a deadly skin disease, according to an experiment conducted by Virginia Tech...
View ArticleKiller fungus invades Europe
n invasive pathogenic fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) is a threat to European salamander and newt biodiversity. Bsal was originally discovered in the Netherlands because it caused mass...
View ArticleSinging in the rain: A new species of rain frog from Manu National Park,...
A new rain frog species has been described from Amazonian Peru and the Amazonian foothills of the Andes. The frog, given the name Pristimantis pluvialis, was found by researchers from Southern Illinois...
View ArticleScientists release frogs wearing mini radio transmitters into Panamanian...
Ninety Limosa harlequin frogs (Atelopus limosus) bred in human care are braving the elements of the wild after Smithsonian scientists sent them out into the Panamanian rainforest as part of their...
View ArticleBaw Baw frog charms researchers in battle against extinction
Scientists are racing against time to save Victoria's unique Baw Baw frog - facing extinction from a fungus threatening a third of Australia's frog species.
View ArticleEcologist unearths the foothill yellow-legged frog's past in order to inform...
Once abundant in Southern California, the foothill yellow-legged frog inexplicably vanished from the region sometime between the late 1960s and early 1970s. The reasons behind its rapid extinction have...
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