Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Wildlife Ecology

Advisor(s)

Seanna Annis

Committee Members

Peter Avis, Noah Charney

Graduation Year

May 2025

Publication Date

8-2025

Abstract

The chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) are the first fungi in their phylum to predate on vertebrates, specifically predating on amphibians, with Bd causing mass die-offs of anurans during the 1980’s and creating “silent forests”. Bsal has been more recently discovered in 2013 in Europe, causing extinctions of the local fire salamander populations. While Bd has spread worldwide, Bsal is still contained to Asia and Europe. However, Bsal will eventually make its way to North America, the global hotspot of salamander diversity. Retracing the biology, history, transmission and management of Bd through a synthesis of chytrid research may give wildlife managers insight into strategies to mitigate Bsal once it enters the continent of North America so that the caudates of North America have a chance of survival. With the current research and studies, there are ways to manage and treat Bd successfully, but there is limited success on treating Bsal. However, management plans have effectively kept Bsal out of the country for the time being, and research should continue to be done in order to properly prepare for this fungal invasion.

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