Fungus destroying amphibian populations at higher rate than habitat destruction
(PhysOrg.com) -- According to a new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, human development and habitat loss are not the main contributor to the population decline of...
View ArticleFighting massive declines in frog populations with bacteria and fungicides
A microscopic chytrid fungus is causing massive declines in frog populations all over the world and even the extinction of certain species. Together with colleagues from Europe and the USA, researchers...
View ArticlePossible biological control discovered for pathogen devastating amphibians
Zoologists at Oregon State University have discovered that a freshwater species of zooplankton will eat a fungal pathogen which is devastating amphibian populations around the world.
View ArticleBiodiversity helps dilute infectious disease, reduce its severity
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...
View ArticleFrog trade link to killer fungus revealed
The global trade in frogs, toads and other amphibians may have accidentally helped create and spread the deadly fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which has devastated amphibian populations worldwide.
View ArticleResearch 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...
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