Journal article
Presence of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in rainwater suggests aerial dispersal is possible
JE Kolby, SD Ramirez, L Berger, DW Griffin, M Jocque, LF Skerratt
Aerobiologia | SPRINGER | Published : 2015
Abstract
Global spread of the pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) may involve dispersal mechanisms not previously explored. Weather systems accompanied by strong wind and rainfall have been known to assist the dispersal of microbes pathogenic to plants and animals, and we considered a similar phenomenon might occur with Bd. We investigated this concept by sampling rainwater from 20 precipitation events for the presence of Bd in Cusuco National Park, Honduras: a site where high Bd prevalence was previously detected in stream-associated amphibians. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed the presence of Bd in rainwater in one (5 %) of the weather events sampled, although..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research was supported, in part, by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Rufford Small Grants for Nature Conservation, Chicago Zoological Society/Chicago Board of Trade Endangered Species Fund, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Sampling was performed in Cusuco National Park with permission from the Instituto Nacional de Conservacion y Desarollo Forestal Areas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre (ICF) as part of the long-term biodiversity monitoring program performed by Operation Wallacea. We thank Operation Wallacea for orchestrating fieldwork logistics and are grateful for the many volunteers and local guides who assisted with sample collection. We also thank D. Calhoun, K. Richards-Hrdlicka, J. Kirshtein, and B. Scheele for their helpful advice on field methods and earlier manuscript drafts. Any use of trade, firm, or product names in this manuscript is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.