articleScienceMar 28, 2019BRONZE OA

Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity

BCBen C. ScheeleFPFrank PasmansLFLee F. SkerrattLBLee BergerAMAn Martel

Australian National University · RMIT University · +34 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Anthropogenic trade and development have broken down dispersal barriers, facilitating the spread of diseases that threaten Earth's biodiversity. We present a global, quantitative assessment of the amphibian chytridiomycosis panzootic, one of the most impactful examples of disease spread, and demonstrate its role in the decline of at least 501 amphibian species over the past half-century, including 90 presumed extinctions. The effects of chytridiomycosis have been greatest in large-bodied, range-restricted anurans in wet climates in the Americas and Australia. Declines peaked in the 1980s, and only 12% of declined species show signs of recovery, whereas 39% are experiencing ongoing decline. There is risk of…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Amphibian
  • Biodiversity
  • Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental science
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