Attention Frog-lovers...

[Dragontown]

Sad and disturbing:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/a-fungus-brings-dinosaurs-fate-to-frogs/

[Haroldo]

Thanks for the link Mike, but I'm afraid it may be too little too late. Knowledge of the chytrid fungus existing is not "breaking news", there's been dozens of serious studies on it (origin, spread, etc.) over the past decade, yet it seems that until recent, the only ones qued in to the pathogen's havoc were those keepers in the amphibian community. For those that want to know a bit more, here are a few pieces that I thought were useful:

Chytridiomycosis (amphibian chytrid fungus disease) (2004). Retrieved March 10, 2007 from Austrian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. http://www.deh.gov.au

Karesh, W. & Cook, R. (2005). The human-animal link. Retrieved March 10, 2007 from Foreign Affairs http://www.foreignaffairs.org

Karesh, W., Cook, R., Bennett, E., & Newcomb, J. (2005). Wildlife trade and global disease emergence. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 11, 1000-1002. Retrieved March 10, 2007 from Springer Link database.

Parris, M. & Beaudoin, J. (2004). Chytridiomycosis impacts predator-prey interactions in larval amphibian communities. Oceologia, 140, 626-632. Retrieved March 10, 2007 from Springer Link database.

Pounds, J., Bustamante, M., Coloma, L., Consuegra, J., Fogden, M., Foster, P., & et al (2006). Widespread amphibian disease driven by global warming. Nature, 439, 161-167.

Vancouver Human Society. (2004).A disaster ignored? The threat to human and animal health from imported exotic wildlife: A review of scientific evidence and opinion. http://www.vancouverhumanesociety.bc.ca

Weldon, C., Preez, L., Hyatt, A., Muler, R., & Speare, R. (2004). Origin of the amphibian cyhtrid fungus. Emerging Infectious Disease, 10, 2100-2105.

Most people don't get the fact that amphibians won't be the only species affected by the disease. Pathogens like this have been known to cross the species-divide in addition to the consequences these extinctions will have on their associated eco-habitats. Only wish there was a bit more concern earlier...

[IndyCrestie]

I wonder if the african clawed frogs being more popular in aquarium keeping has anything to do with it - perhaps via introducing patheogens after being released from captive environments.

Or simply them being released after growing too large/aggressive for the cute fish tank they were purchased as a baby to be in. Maybe they were released into environments that never had to deal with this fungus they carry, thereby introducing it to inhabitats that had no natural protection against it.

[CrestedLove27]

That's sad. :(

I have noticed that there has been a real decline of salamanders and frogs in my area from when I was a small child. I can't even go to local lakes anymore and see bullfrogs and leopard frogs on the banks, when back when I was a kid you couldn't take two steps at the water's edge without seeing five of them dash and jump away. I can remember lifting up rocks and seeing red lined and yellow spotted salamanders in huge numbers in the local woods, and I don't see them anymore either.

I always think about this whenever I'm out camping or out on a hike. It's really disappointing to read that article, I was unaware of the fungus outbreak but it all makes sense now.

[DDReptiles]

That's sad. :(

I have noticed that there has been a real decline of salamanders and frogs in my area from when I was a small child. I can't even go to local lakes anymore and see bullfrogs and leopard frogs on the banks, when back when I was a kid you couldn't take two steps at the water's edge without seeing five of them dash and jump away. I can remember lifting up rocks and seeing red lined and yellow spotted salamanders in huge numbers in the local woods, and I don't see them anymore either.

I always think about this whenever I'm out camping or out on a hike. It's really disappointing to read that article, I was unaware of the fungus outbreak but it all makes sense now.

Yeah I have noticed that to with local frogs.

I never heard of the virus until now, I am more of a reptile guy, but enoy amphibians just as much (just read more about reptiles).

I wonder if it is related to the earth warming, bacteria do better in warmer environments so I wonder if it has spread the way it has due to warmer temps, I know this year so far has been REALLY hot, we have been at 100+ degrees here the last 3 weeks, no rain either, which is not normal.

It is very sad to read that article and I really hope these zoos, gardens, and aquariums can gather enough of the threatened species to hold on to until the disease either subsides or a cure is found.

Does anybody know of any cases where this disease has been reported in reptiles or other animals??

[Haroldo]

I wonder if the african clawed frogs being more popular in aquarium keeping has anything to do with it - perhaps via introducing patheogens after being released from captive environments.

Or simply them being released after growing too large/aggressive for the cute fish tank they were purchased as a baby to be in. Maybe they were released into environments that never had to deal with this fungus they carry, thereby introducing it to inhabitats that had no natural protection against it.

Yes, researchers do believe African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) were primarily responsible for the spread of the pathogen, but not because of their use as a pet, at least not inititally. In the early 20th century, X. laevis were actually exported around the world to be used as a [biological] pregnancy test. However, the current rise of this infectious disease can be more generally attributed to world commerce and trade...

[Haroldo]

That's sad. :(

I have noticed that there has been a real decline of salamanders and frogs in my area from when I was a small child. I can't even go to local lakes anymore and see bullfrogs and leopard frogs on the banks, when back when I was a kid you couldn't take two steps at the water's edge without seeing five of them dash and jump away. I can remember lifting up rocks and seeing red lined and yellow spotted salamanders in huge numbers in the local woods, and I don't see them anymore either.

I always think about this whenever I'm out camping or out on a hike. It's really disappointing to read that article, I was unaware of the fungus outbreak but it all makes sense now.

I think it might be a mistake to assume local amphib declines are a result of the fungus. Things like global warming and water quality have a profound effect on all amphibian species. In fact, in the midwest, hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) are on the decline. Researchers from the Illinois Natural History Survey have been doing studies for years and think this may be because of decline of water quality and has nothing to do with the chytrid fungus (though there are documented cases of chytridiomycosis being present in North America). While this does not make the idea of local amphib populations declining, lets no just "pigeon-hole" all declines, as some are actually naturally occuring...

[Haroldo]

I wonder if it is related to the earth warming, bacteria do better in warmer environments so I wonder if it has spread the way it has due to warmer temps, I know this year so far has been REALLY hot, we have been at 100+ degrees here the last 3 weeks, no rain either, which is not normal.

Does anybody know of any cases where this disease has been reported in reptiles or other animals??

As if all the bleak possibilities revolving around the emergence [and rapid spread] of this fungal pathogen wasn't enough, scientists have conducted research recently that suggests global warming might be also aiding the devastating effects of the disease. Besides the obvious [and somewhat controversial] consequences of global warming, Alan Pounds (et all) in their study entitled “Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming,” have found that temperature increases (though the disease does have an 'upper limit' for survival concerning temperature at the moment) have been linked to outbreaks of the “lethal” fungus (2006). In their study, they claim that “...global climate change is already causing the extinction of species [directly]...”. But more importantly, their findings suggest that “...warming may accelerate disease development by translating into local or micro-scale temperature shifts— increases and decreases—favourable to Batrachochytrium”. Interesting enough, these findings might help explain why the extinction of amphibians has become so rapid in recent, warmer years, but the fungus is no less lethal at cooler temperatures. Pounds and others in the study found that the fungus is more likely to kill them at cool temperatures, even though warming accelerates evaporation in amphibians (more water vapor equals more clouds=warmer days, cooler nights). So it seems that global warming [and even small-scale environmental cooling] renders favorable conditions for the pathogen, making planning on this front outright impossible in the short term.

To answer your second question Derek, to my knowledge there has been no "crossings" to other animals as the fungus invades the body and causes damage to the keratin layer in amphibians. However, as William Karesh and Robert Cook point out in their article entitled “The Human-Animal Link,” in recent years, “...outbreaks of diseases such as avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Ebola virus...have also shared a worrisome key characteristic: the ability to cross the Darwarian divide between animals and people.” (2005). According to recent analysis, more than 60% of the 1,415 infectious diseases currently known to modern medicine are capable of infecting both animals and humans. Given this, "writing" this problem off as simply an issue of species "lower on the food chain" is grossly ignorant...

[bushwhack]

Given this, "writing" this problem off as simply an issue of species "lower on the food chain" is grossly ignorant...

Absolutely. It seems like scientists have been saying forever that amphibians are key environmental indicators ... they are the first to go with things get f***ed up, but it certainly doesn't stop there. Unfortunately, this is probably just a taste of things to come. Although the issue of chytrid fungus is not all that new, when you combine it with the general pollution/water quality issues which have been causing population declines for some time, it doesn't look good :(
Does anybody know how many states still allow X. laevis? I know they have been banned (in the pet trade) in Oregon for many years. With proper care they live a really long time though, so there are still quite a few "grandfathered" in (my family has some X. laevis that have been around since I was a kid ... 20+ years old!).

[IndyCrestie]

Yes, researchers do believe African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) were primarily responsible for the spread of the pathogen,

Well of course, that is why I brought up that species in particular. ;)

[IndyCrestie]

Does anybody know how many states still allow X. laevis? I know they have been banned (in the pet trade) in Oregon for many years.

Not sure how many total, but they are still dirt cheap and found at pretty much any petstore here in Indiana.

[CrestedLove27]

Not sure how many total, but they are still dirt cheap and found at pretty much any petstore here in Indiana.

In my state they're legal here in Mass as well. I know a bunch of people who have them that are years old and going on strong.

[IndyCrestie]

In my state they're legal here in Mass as well. I know a bunch of people who have them that are years old and going on strong.

I just don't see the lure in them. I mean...it's a frog. And it lives in the water. Big whoop! :-\"

(not trying to insult anyone's choice in pets, just saying that for their popularity you'd think they could whistle the andy griffith tune or something).

[Cam]

They are very fragile as tadpoles as well.

Case in point...we brought home a few tadpoles from the local park pond. Had a few in one container and a few in another.

We were reading how they would need a rock to get out onto once their legs and lungs began to develop. So in one tank we put some rocks from our yard, collected the rocks right along our property line with our weed killer neighbor.

Had to leave and didn't get to the second tank. When we got home ALL the tadpoles in the tank with the rocks were dead.

I am guessing that the neighbors yard chemicals were absorbed into the rocks and that's what killed them.:cry:

We all need to pay attention to what mother nature is screaming.

[CrestedLove27]

I just don't see the lure in them. I mean...it's a frog. And it lives in the water. Big whoop! :-\"

(not trying to insult anyone's choice in pets, just saying that for their popularity you'd think they could whistle the andy griffith tune or something).

I agree, they are kind of boring. When I used to work at a store that sold them, customers had a hard time realizing they were even alive in the first place. I used to have to nudge the poor frogs to assure people that they weren't dead or fake. The albino ones look like fetuses.

I think the main allure on their popular impulse-buy status is that they're a frog that doesn't need to "eat bugs."