Fungus Epidemic killing off California Amphibians: study
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fungus Epidemic killing off California Amphibians: study*
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (AFP) Aug 10, 2007
A fungus is wreaking havoc on California's frogs, according to a new
study, and it is quickly spreading in other countries.
The chytrid fungus has created an epidemic, virtually wiping out the
yellow-legged frog in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing the amphibian as
an endangered species, and some scientists consider this species
collapse a bellwether for greater ecosystem decline.
"Amphibians are very susceptible to environmental change," John Taylor,
biology professor at the University of California, Berkeley told AFP.
The chytrid fungus, also known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was
discovered in 1998, and is found on all continents except Antarctica.
Research indicates that it threatens one-third of the world's known
amphibian species.
"Frogs do not have the same barriers that we have, and these problems
could be affecting us in different ways, possibly in terms of
reproduction," Taylor said.
Taylor and his team of researchers have yet to determine just how the
chytrid fungus causes the demise of the frog.
A recent study from Costa Rica showed the fungus spreading at 100
kilometers (60 miles) per year, wiping out harlequin frogs and golden
toads and raising suspicion that the fungus is more aggressive in warmer
climates.
The frog populations of the Sierra Nevada, where the fungus spreads two
kilometers every year, are the most closely studied to date.
Researchers have watched tens of thousands of frogs disappear from
hundreds of sites in the area, some of the best-protected land in the
United States.
Scientists once suspected a non-native predatory fish was the culprit,
but even with the fish removed, the frog population continued to dwindle.
Roland Knapp, research biologist at the University of California, Santa
Barbara and co-author of the study, told AFP he had tried to reintroduce
the frog 10 times, and has suffered a 70 percent failure rate.