Chytridiomycosis, a potentially lethal amphibian disease, is caused by a fungus that has been associated with population declines in amphibian species throughout the world. USGS ecologists Erin Muths (FORT) and David Pilliod (FRESC), along with University of Colorado colleague Lauren Livo, just published a paper in Biological Conservation that describes the first regional-level, field-based effort to examine the relationship of environmental and geographic factors to the distribution of the chytrid fungus in the western United States. In the Rocky Mountains, the fungus was detected in boreal toad populations across a range of elevations and latitudes, but high-elevation populations living in areas with relatively low daytime temperatures were less likely to carry the fungus. This information has climate change implications because warming temperatures may facilitate the spread of disease into new areas.
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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