Initial assessment of host susceptibility and pathogen virulence for conservation and management of tasmanian amphibians

Abstract

The disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by lethal fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is considered a threat to Tasmanian amphibians, but little is known about the susceptibility of Tasmania’s amphibian species or the likely impacts of infections. We identified threatened and endemic species with prioritization rules and the aid of predictive risk models. We also conducted controlled infection experiments in order to test the pathogenicity of, and host susceptibility to, a Tasmanian isolate of B. dendrobatidis. Of the species prioritized for disease testing, the endemic Tasmanian Tree Frog (Litoria burrowsae) sustained high infection intensities and high (100%) mortality ra..