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An amphibian fungus has become “the most deadly pathogen known”
- devoply 8y agoAnother leak in the mother-ship we call earth. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/
- citilife 8y agoInteresting, I had always been told it was pollution... I used to live next to a river and we always had tons of frogs. Then after a few years, almost all of them disappeared. I heard people claim pollution, but we were still getting our drinking water from the same source, so I had my doubts. This makes way more sense and I'm surprised I had no idea.
- Lordarminius 8y agoGlobal warming was the scientific consensus a few years ago. It was thought that increased temperatures and radiation adversely affected amphibian eggs causing a failure to hatch. I guess it could be multifactorial
- abalone 8y agoUser devoply just posted this paper linking climate change to the spread of this fungus. It’s not just trade and travel. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/
- mirimir 8y ago> Our analysis shows a significant association between change in local climatic variables and the occurrence of chytridiomycosis within this region. Specifically, we show that rising temperature is linked to the occurrence of chytrid-related disease, consistent with the chytrid-thermal-optimum hypothesis. We show that these local variables are driven by general circulation patterns, principally the North Atlantic Oscillation. Given that B. dendrobatidis is known to be broadly distributed across Europe, there is now an urgent need to assess the generality of our finding and determine whether climate-driven epidemics may be expected to impact on amphibian species across the wider region. So yes, trade and travel spread the fungus. And increasing temperature decreases resistance to it. Very succinct: "chytrid-thermal-optimum hypothesis".
- umvi 8y agoGlobal warming I swear can be used to retroactively explain any anomaly just because the effects of temperature on different processes has so many difficult to predict side effects. Like, if America suddenly had a mini ice age next year I'm pretty sure AGW would be used to retroactively explain how this might happen. Or if crops die, etc.
- asdfasdfasdfa 8y agoYeah, it turns out destabilizing the climate is a big fucking deal.
- umvi 8y agoI agree but, come on. It's a cop out. Anyone can retroactively fit a model. It's much harder to have a model that makes good predictions. It's tiring when everything from insect populations, to depression in humans, to polar vortexes are all retroactively attributed to AGW. Of course, existing models would never predict these things, they are simply observed, and then a climate related cause is sought out and pinned on.
- zemvpferreira 8y agoWhy would you expect us to have good models for unprecedented events of unprecedented scale? I’m all for high standards but this isn’t exactly a simple thing you’re pining for.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- sneakernets 8y agoBut AGW is why those things are happening.
- goatlover 8y agoBut how do we know that as opposed to just assuming AGW is the cause for all those things, as opposed to there being other causes?
- stevenwoo 8y agoSimilar to how Lyme disease has spread to ticks over most of the USA because climate change has expanded the viable range, one is still more likely to get exposed to it in the original area of the Northeast but it's now found in ticks spread over the country, and this is true in other countries as well.
- jessaustin 8y agoIt's interesting that warming would make it easier for ticks from the Northeast to travel south. Or, alternatively, for Borrelia bacteria to do the same, since I have it on good authority that the South has had ticks for a long time. It almost explains too much.
- dmichulke 8y agoI'll translate because it's interesting and was not immediately obvious (to me) The south had ticks before (global warming), yet no (few?) Borrelia bacteria. Therefore there is no indication other than a timely coincidence that global warming is responsible for Borrelia bacteria appearing more frequently in the south.
- acqq 8y ago> there is no indication other than a timely coincidence that global warming is responsible for Borrelia bacteria But that still doesn't disprove AGW as the cause of the spread of the ticks! Once you have the ticks there where they weren't before, something as simple as bacteria can infect them easier.
- acqq 8y agoI don't see it any different than malaria, caused by plasmodium and also a serious health problem in some parts of the world ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria ): not all mosquitoes carry malaria, but the only way to eradicate malaria in some area is to manage to not have mosquitoes there, it's known since approximately the end of the 19th century, and still true. And the spreading of malaria has also different dynamics from the spreading of all of mosquitoes. So yes, the changes in environment that make for the insects to easy to spread in the areas where they couldn't before is something that should concern the humans, especially if there is a proof that humans helped the spread.
- freeflight 8y agoI wouldn't be too surprised if the pollution does its fair share of damage too. Easily fathomable that it could affect animals immune systems, making them more susceptible to all kinds of diseases.
- Sharlin 8y agoNice to know that not every ecological disaster is our fault… > probably via the international trade in pet amphibians …oh, never mind then.
- FPGAhacker 8y agoHey, we still have the dinosaur asteroid.
- taneq 8y agoEvery ecological disaster is our fault by definition. If it's not in some way anthropogenic, it's "natural" and therefore OK. Dinosaurs being wiped out? Meh, asteroids happen. Mammoths being wiped out by cavemen? Ecological disaster!
- ImaCake 8y agoIn defence of these terms and some quarters of humanity; we often try to save keystone species at risk of extinction even when we are not at fault (see the Tasmanian Devil for example).
- linuxftw 8y agoThe answer is most likely pesticides. Fungus is ancient. If a frog's immune system has been compromised it's probably susceptible to all manner of ailments. Don't let the pesticide industry convince you their products are safe.
- tonto 8y agoThere should be a report button on comments for comments like this.
- Can_Not 8y agoThere actually is, if you click on the timestamp of a comment, you'll get a page dedicated to the comment where you can click "flag" to report it. You won't be able to add any reasons though.
- randyrand 8y agoThe same could be said about the black plague. Why haven’t we already evolved to be immune to these thugs by now? Yet somehow new diseases continue to emerge and kill millions. Really the same could be said of all deadly diseases.
- Shivetya 8y agotrade has always opened up specie to increased risk, ships crossing the oceans, canals, and more. Look at the issues the Atlantic origin lamprey's had on the Great Lakes.
- omginternets 8y agoNot that this makes it a non-problem, but I recall that endothermic species are relatively fungus-resistant given that most fungi prefer cooler temperatures. I'm wondering if any epidemiologists could weigh in wrt the risk of spread to humans or other animals.
- abalone 8y agoThis study explores exactly this question. In short, climate change moderated the temp of one climate which would normally kill off the fungus, while amphibians seek cool shelter during the hottest days thus keeping the fungus alive and also speeding transmission. Key passages: ”In this region, global warming is moderating the naturally severe cool conditions, and among other consequences, as Harvell et al. (2002) pointed out, shorter, milder winters are expected to increase the incidence of disease.“ ”...However, this recent warming has not increased the number of days where the maximum temperatures exceed 28°C, the critical threshold for successful persistence of B. dendrobatidis. In addition, even if this limit could be achieved in the area, survival and persistence of the pathogen may occur as a consequence of the active avoidance of high temperatures by the metamorphs preferential selection of damp and cool habitats within which to hide.” ”...On the other hand, the sixth climatic factor, relating to the abundance of mist and dewfall, presents the highest values during May, when the breeding period of the amphibians takes place. Therefore, as may occur with the temperature scenario discussed earlier, a value of 100% relative humidity provided by overnight dewfall and mists during the breeding period could be a key determinant in facilitating the transmission of fungus...”[1] This is why climate change is so dangerous. We don’t understand how interconnected and complex ecosystems are to truly predict its effects. Credit to devoply for posting the paper. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/
- dukoid 8y agoDoes anybody know if this is related to the fungus killing Fire Salamanders in Europe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_salamander#Confirmed_hosts_of_Batrachochytrium_salamandrivorans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_salamander#Confirmed_host...
- SolaceQuantum 8y agoIn the article it's stated that there's a similar fungus killing salamanders as an example of science learning from the frog illness and applying quarantine/scientific resolution methods earlier for reduced mortality.
- jacobolus 8y agoFrom the article: > In 2013, researchers discovered that a related fungus was attacking fire salamanders in Belgium. Called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal for short), it seemed poised to do to salamanders what Bd has done to frogs. > But this time, things are playing out differently. > Researchers discovered the outbreak and identified Bsal quickly. They immediately began running experiments to understand the threat it posed. Thanks to barriers to trade now in place, Bsal has yet to threaten another species anywhere. [...]
- mirimir 8y agoFYI: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6434/1459 http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6434/1459 > Anthropogenic trade and development have broken down dispersal barriers, facilitating the spread of diseases that threaten Earth’s biodiversity. We present a global, quantitative assessment of the amphibian chytridiomycosis panzootic, one of the most impactful examples of disease spread, and demonstrate its role in the decline of at least 501 amphibian species over the past half-century, including 90 presumed extinctions. The effects of chytridiomycosis have been greatest in large-bodied, range-restricted anurans in wet climates in the Americas and Australia. Declines peaked in the 1980s, and only 12% of declined species show signs of recovery, whereas 39% are experiencing ongoing decline. There is risk of further chytridiomycosis outbreaks in new areas. The chytridiomycosis panzootic represents the greatest recorded loss of biodiversity attributable to a disease. [emphasis added] Damn. I mean, I hate those Asian stink bugs, but at least they aren't killing me.
- scotty79 8y agoSo many specied affected by single pathogen. I wonder if there was something like that in history of homo species. Some virus that wiped all homo species, except homo sapiens that gets just runny nose for few days because of it.
- nikofeyn 8y agomaybe this is because i am no longer a kid and not spending as much time outside or due to location, but i can’t remember the last time i saw a frog, worm, toad, or turtle in the wild.
- Matticus_Rex 8y agoI spend a lot of time outside and see all of them fairly regularly. Don't think the frequency has decreased.
- mirimir 8y agoI fled to the US in the mid 60s. And I drifted a lot. I remember walking country roads at night, in summer, and being unable to avoid stepping on frogs. It ain't like that now.
- jhallenworld 8y agoMy parents took us on the "Vacation"-style cross country car trip (yes, in a station wagon) in 1978. I remember that nearly every motel pool had frogs in it.
- drcross 8y agoAs a kid, when my parents would drive us on long journeys the front of the car would be caked with dead insects and that doesn't happen anymore on long drives. Something drastic is happening.
- bdamm 8y agoThis entire spring so far I have encountered only a single bee. We have fruit trees in full bloom now (Oregon) but no bees to feast on the veritable smorgasbord of nectar. Now that is weird.
- ams6110 8y agoToads and turtles are everwhere around my house in the summer (US Midwest). Hear frogs all night too. I accidentally ran over a turtle with my lawn mower last summer. Felt pretty bad about it and I really try to watch for them now.
- kbutler 8y agoI approve of both the general encouragement to use the original headline and rewriting the headline in this case. Maybe we could have a general rejection headlines that include the words "worse than" and "thought"? The Gray Lady coloring with clickbait. sigh
- lelf 8y agoPaper (pdf) — http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/363/6434/1459.full.pdf http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/363/6434/1459.full...
- peter_retief 8y agoThis link is just an ad for the new york times!!
- peter_retief 8y agoWhy down vote this comment, its true ?
- peter_retief 8y agoI cant read the article without signing up?
- tptacek 8y agoFun factoid: in the 1930s, it was discovered that you could inject human urine into African clawed frogs; if the frogs subsequently ovulated, the human was pregnant, and for something like 2 decades this became the universal standard test for human pregnancy. It's thought by some that the circulation of those African clawed frogs introduced chytrid pathogens to habitats around the world, since the first recorded pathological chytrid specimens were from South Africa.
- mmaunder 8y agoKnown in SA as the platanna frog. Directly translates to flat-annie but actually comes from a Dutch phrase meaning flat-handed.
- openasocket 8y agoHow on Earth does someone discover that? What possible series of events or hypotheses would lead someone to perform such an experiment?
- ct520 8y agoMakes you wonder what other type of screwed up failed tests people did that never were shared.
- Buttons840 8y agoUgh, don't wonder that too hard. In this case, reality is probably worse than what you can come up with in your own imagination.
- shoes_for_thee 8y agoperhaps it was known that hCG is present in the urine of pregnant women. and also that hCG induces ovulation in frogs. If injecting frogs with urine is cheaper than other methods of detecting signaling horomones.. well, there ya go.
- 8y ago
- vichu 8y agoJust thinking about how much work and research from organizations like the CDC put in to preventing another Spanish flu-like pandemic for humans, it seems shockingly obvious that pandemics would be occurring for other species where technology and quarantine are not as strictly used. Its only through observations like this that I've realized how devastating the impact of contaminated ecosystems must be. I suppose that's why I've needed to check all those boxes about visiting farms/smuggling produce whenever I go through customs. Since this article is specifically about frogs, I can't help but wonder if the drastic reduction of insect biomass isn't contributing to their decline. With numbers as drastic as a 75% decline in certain areas[0], it's hard to imagine frogs/birds/etc. aren't suffering from population decline due to reduced food availability. [0] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-insect-populations-decline-scientists-are-trying-to-understand-why/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-insect-populat...
- abalone 8y agoSome solid research pointing to climate change being the primary factor driving this.[1] See other comments for details. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1685858/
- amvalo 8y agoThe die-off started in the 70s when climate change was < 0.5C. OTOH, the story of globalization introducing pests/pathogens to naive populations is an extremely common one, and there's no reason to doubt it here.
- abalone 8y agoOh yes there is. From the study just cited: “While a large percentage of these declines are attributable to direct anthropogenic effects, such as habitat loss, a substantial amount (48%) are classed as ‘enigmatic‘ declines with no identifiable cause (Stuart et al. 2004).“ Also: “We have recently shown that B. dendrobatidis widely infects amphibian populations across Europe (Garner et al. 2005), suggesting that introductions of the pathogen are rather more ancient than were previously expected. However, mass mortalities are highly clustered within a relatively few high-altitude areas in Spain and France (S. Walker, M. C. Fisher & J. Bosch 2003–2006, unpublished data). These data are inconsistent with a wave-like front of introductions across Europe driving contemporary epidemics and suggest that environmental conditions influence host–pathogen dynamics in determining the outcome of infection within a site of introduction.”
- swamp40 8y agoWould we make an antifungal and spread it throughout the world? Seems like that could somehow backfire on us.
- chiefalchemist 8y ago"The fungus turned up in other countries, but studies of its DNA suggest that Bd originated on the Korean Peninsula. In Asia, amphibians seem impervious to Bd, but when it got to other parts of the world — probably via the international trade in pet amphibians — the pathogen reached hundreds of vulnerable species." How long will it be before we realize that perhaps the globe wasn't designed for globalization? Note: I'm not a Luddite. I'm simply doing the analysis and stating the obvious.
- bdamm 8y agoThe globe wasn't designed, and those animals didn't choose immunity. It was developed via evolution. And evolution will similarly wipe out massive numbers of species due to global exposure of pathogens. We are in the midst of the greatest extinction event this world has ever seen. Keep your head down and may the antigens be in your favor.
- chiefalchemist 8y agoThat's my point. Evolution was a long, slow, and often isolated process. When you begin to jet things from one side of the planet to the other you're doing things that are entirely atypical of evolution. The point being, any species that developed and survived via evolution is unfit for speed and breadth of the current human + technology modern version of "evolution".
- kylek 8y agoI wonder if there is a good way to test for this, and if it affects humans. Kambo[0] is a medicine extracted from the South American Phyllomedusa Bicolour[1] tree frog that is used by humans, I believe without any processing. (As if it weren't dangerous enough already...!). I hope practitioners (e.g. the IAKP[2] take note) can come up with a way to test before using it. [0] https://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Phyllomedusa_bicolor.shtml https://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Phyllomedusa_bic... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllomedusa_bicolor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllomedusa_bicolor [2] https://iakp.org/ https://iakp.org/
- joe5150 8y agoa fungus is also responsible for a serious disease killing millions of North American bats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome
- pvaldes 8y agoIt is still suspicious that many insectivorous are being killed in mass by fungus epidemies. No rodents, no carnivores... frogs, bats, salamanders... Are in decline insects eating other insects and spiders? It seems that not. Maybe not studied really. Less predators would help also.
- mjcohen 8y agoHope this doesn't mutate to affect humans.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- pvaldes 8y agoI have an idea. Frogs are used in labs since a long, long time. We know a lot about their embryology and genetics. They have big eggs with easily accessible cells and lay plenty of them. If we can make a transgenic tomato adding genes for frost resistance, we probably could make a transgenic frog adding korean frog genes for fungus resistance. Then release then in a safely enclosed area. If both kinds of frogs keep vanishing at the same pace, then fungus is a symptom and not a cause (or we did it wrong). If not, we would have discovered a last try to gain a precious time and save thousands of species in captiviy even if the zoos are in areas contaminated by the fungus.