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33 results for “amphibian disease”
Lab disease outcomes data evaluating how antibiotic tolerant vs. non-tolerant cell-free supernatant from Pseudomonas aeruginosa affects the interaction between a fungal pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and amphibian (Rana sylvaticus), 2022.
Microbes living on hosts and in the environment can play a key role in helping hosts to combat pathogens. However, antibiotic-induced alterations to microbial metabolite production could disrupt this dynamic. Here, we investigated whether antibiotic tolerance influences the anti-pathogenic properties of host-associated (living on the host; biofilms) and environmental (living in the soil of water column; planktonic) microbes in vitro and in vivo. For our model host and pathogen, we used the amphibian (Rana sylvatica)-Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) system. For our model host-associated (biofilm) and environmental (planktonic) microbes, we used four strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that vary in their tolerance to antibiotics and their biofilm-forming capabilities: Planktonic, non-antibiotic tolerant (ΔsagS/VC); Planktonic, antibiotic tolerant (ΔsagS::sagS_L154A); Biofilm, non-antibiotic tolerant (ΔsagS::sagS_D105A); Biofilm, antibiotic tolerant (ΔsagS::sagS). We collected cell-free supernatants (CFS) from each strain to examine the effects of metabolites. We conducted four experiments. In our pathogen-only exposures to test direct effects of metabolites on Bd, we exposed Bd zoospores to each P. aeruginosa CFS at six concentrations. After 11 days of growth, we measured relative abundance of Bd across each treatment. In our host-only exposures to test effects of metabolites on host disease outcomes, we placed R. sylvatica tadpoles in individual units containing each P. aeruginosa CFS. After 48 hours, water was changed into clean well water (no CFS). Bd zoospores were immediately added to each experimental unit following the water change. After 5 days of Bd exposure, we measured snout-vent length (SVL), mass, developmental stage, and Bd quantification in the mouthparts using qPCR for each tadpole. In our host-pathogen exposures to test interactive effects of metabolites on hosts in the presence of the pathogen, we conducted the same experiment as above. However, ins
Data and code for 'Age truncation due to disease shrinks metapopulation viability for amphibians'
<p>This repository provides all data and R code from the analysis for the following paper:</p> <p>Heard, G.W., Scroggie, M.P., Hollanders, M., and Scheele, B.C. (in press). Age truncation due to disease shrinks metapopulation viability for amphibians. <em>Journal of Applied Ecology</em>. </p> <p>The data are provided as a series of .csv files. A GRD file is provided for the landscape rasters. R code is provided separately for each of the following components:</p> <p>1. A script to complete regression modelling of age structure data for populations of the focal species pre- and post-Bd, plus estimation of adult survival rates from the age structure data using the 'catch curve' approach ('Age_structure_analysis.R').</p> <p>2. A script to generate the sample landscapes used for simulations of metapopulation dynamics for the pre- and post-Bd time periods ('Derive_landscape_rasters.R').</p> <p>3. A script with functions for simulating metapopulation dynamics with the aid of the STEPS R package ('STEPS_model.R').</p> <p>4. A script to run the metapopulation simulations across all the demographic and connectivity scenarios, where connectivity scenarios are defined by the sample landscapes ('Run_STEPS_simulations.R'). </p> <p>5. A script to fit logistic regression models to the outcomes of the metapopulation simulations (extinction versus persistence) ('Metapop_sims_analysis_GLM.R').</p> <p>6. A script to fit multivariate normal hypervolumes to the outcomes of the metapopulation simulations (extinction versus persistence) ('Metapop_sims_analysis_MVNH.R').</p> <p>7. A script to generate each of the figures in the manuscript, plus Table 2 which requires post-hoc data compilation ('Generate_figures.R'). </p> <p>In combination, the data files and scripts allow all analyses from the paper to be reproduced. </p>
Data from: Disease and climate effects on individuals drive post-reintroduction population dynamics of an endangered amphibian
The emergence of novel pathogens often has dramatic negative effects on previously unexposed host populations. Subsequent disease can drive populations and even species to extinction. After establishment in populations, pathogens can continue to affect host dynamics, influencing the success or failure of species recovery efforts. However, quantifying the effect of pathogens on host populations in the wild is challenging because individual hosts and their pathogens are difficult to observe. Here we use long-term mark-recapture data to describe the dynamics of reintroduced populations of an endangered amphibian (Rana sierrae) and evaluate the success of these recovery efforts in the presence of a recently-emerged pathogen, the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. We find that high B. dendrobatidis infection intensities are associated with increases in frog detectability and reductions in survival. When average infection intensities are high, adults are more likely to gain infections and less likely to lose infections. We also find evidence for intensity-dependent survival, with heavily infected individuals suffering higher mortality. These results highlight the need in disease ecology for probabilistic approaches that account for uncertainty in infection intensity using imperfect observational data. Such approaches can advance the understanding of disease impacts on host population dynamics, and in the current study will improve the effectiveness of species conservation actions.
Data from: A novel approach to wildlife transcriptomics provides evidence of disease-mediated differential expression and changes to the microbiome of amphibian populations
Ranaviruses are responsible for a lethal, emerging infectious disease in amphibians and threaten their populations throughout the world. Despite this, little is known about how amphibian populations respond to ranaviral infection. In the United Kingdom, ranaviruses impact the common frog (Rana temporaria). Extensive public engagement in the study of ranaviruses in the UK has led to the formation of a unique system of field sites containing frog populations of known ranaviral disease history. Within this unique natural field system, we used RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to compare the gene expression profiles of R. temporaria populations with a history of ranaviral disease and those without. We have applied a RNA read filtering protocol that incorporates Bloom filters, previously used in clinical settings, to limit the potential for contamination that comes with the use of RNA-Seq in non-laboratory systems. We have identified a suite of 407 transcripts that are differentially expressed between populations of different ranaviral disease history. This suite contains genes with functions related to immunity, development, protein transport and olfactory reception amongst others. A large proportion of potential non-coding RNA transcripts present in our differentially expressed set provides first evidence of a possible role for long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in amphibian response to viruses. Our read-filtering approach also removed significantly more bacterial reads from libraries generated from postitive disease history populations. Subsequent analysis revealed these bacterial read sets to represent distinct communities of bacterial species, which is suggestive of an interaction between ranavirus and the host microbiome in the wild.
Synthesis of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection in South America: amphibian species under risk and areas to focus research and disease mitigation
<p>Amphibian chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been recognized as the infectious disease causing the most catastrophic loss of biodiversity known to science, with South America being the most impacted region. We tested whether Bd prevalence is distributed among host taxonomy, ecoregion, conservation status and habitat preference in South America. Here we provide a synthesis on the extent of Bd infection across South America based on 21,648 molecular diagnostic assays, roles of certain species in the epidemiology of Bd and explore its association with the reported amphibian catastrophic declines in the region. We show that Bd is widespread, with a continental prevalence of 23.2%. Its occurrence in the region shows a phylogenetic signal and the probability of infection is determined by ecoregion, preferred habitat, and extinction risk hosts' traits. The taxa exhibiting highest Bd occurrence, were mostly aquatic amphibians, including Ranidae, Telmatobiidae, Hylodidae, Calyptocephalellidae and Pipidae. Surprisingly, families exhibiting unusually low Bd prevalence included species in which lethal chytridiomycosis and population declines have been described (genus Atelopus, Rhinoderma and Eleutherodactylus). Higher than expected prevalence of Bd occurred mainly in amphibians living associated with mountain environments in the Andes and Atlantic forests, reflecting highly favourable Bd habitats in these areas. Invasive amphibian species (e.g. Lithobates catesbeianus and Xenopus laevis) exhibited high Bd prevalence, as thus we suggest using these as sentinels to understand their potential role as reservoirs, vectors or spreaders of Bd that can be subjected to management. Our results guide on the prioritization of conservation actions to prevent further biodiversity loss due to chytridiomycosis in the world's most amphibian diverse region.</p>
How extreme drought events , introduced species, and disease interact to impact influence threatened amphibian populations
<p>Long term dataset of amphibian breeding in the Bay Area of California. We used this 7-y dataset (2013–2019) on amphibian breeding activity that encompassed a recent extreme drought event to assess 1) how breeding activities of these taxa differed during and after drought conditions and 2) the additive and interactive relationships of drought, chytrid fungal infection (Bd), and invasive species with the presence and abundance of larval amphibians.</p> <p> </p>
Compensatory recruitment unlikely in high elevation amphibian populations challenged with disease
<p>Population-level variation in host responses to disease can be observed across a wide array of host-pathogen systems. Some host populations are extirpated, some persist at lower densities or abundances, and others rebound to pre-disease levels. Understanding the causes of this variation, and the mechanisms of successful persistence, can serve as vital information for species conservation. One such mechanism of population persistence that has gained support in the amphibian <em>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</em> (Bd) host-pathogen system is the demographic process of compensatory recruitment. Host populations may persist by increasing recruitment to compensate for reduced survival due to infection, thus limiting the negative effects of the disease on population trajectories. However, high-elevation amphibian populations are inherently vulnerable to stochastic processes and may be limited in their ability to exhibit compensatory recruitment relative to lower-elevation populations.</p> <p>We use long-term mark-recapture data from five populations of boreal toads (<em>Anaxyrus boreas boreas</em>), across an elevational gradient in Colorado, before and after pathogen arrival to assess whether populations can persist with Bd via compensatory recruitment.</p> <p>Prior to Bd arrival, we found a life history tradeoff between survival and recruitment across elevations, where high-elevation toads have high survival but lower recruitment and vice versa at lower elevations.</p> <p>Bd arrival had a strong negative effect on apparent annual survival and recruitment, and led to negative population growth rates and dramatically reduced host abundances. The data did not support the occurrence of compensatory recruitment.</p> <p>Synthesis and applications. Our unique dataset suggests that demographic responses to pathogens may be environmentally (i.e., elevationally) context-dependent and highlights the value of long-term monitoring. We recommend that practitioners verify that potential persistence mechanisms occur across multiple populations and relevant environmental gradients to counter any assumptions of the mechanism existing species-wide. Quantifying any variation in population responses to disease will aid in understanding the bounds of such persistence mechanisms, and identify particularly vulnerable populations where mechanisms are non-existent.</p>
Male reproductive effort might be evolving in the face of devastating disease in a threatened amphibian
The devastating infectious disease chytridiomycosis has caused declines of amphibians across the globe, yet some populations are persisting and even recovering. One understudied effect of wildlife disease is changes in reproductive effort. Here we aimed to understand if disease has plastic effects on reproduction and if reproductive effort could evolve with disease endemism. We compared the effects of experimental pathogen exposure (trait plasticity) and population-level disease history (evolution in trait baseline) on reproductive effort using gametogenesis as a proxy in the declining and endangered frog Litoria verreauxii alpina. We found that unexposed males from disease-endemic populations had higher reproductive effort, which is consistent with an evolutionary response to chytridiomycosis. We also found evidence of trait plasticity, where males and females were affected differently by infection: pathogen exposed males had higher reproductive effort (larger testes), whereas females had reduced reproductive effort (smaller and fewer developed eggs) regardless of the population of origin. Infectious disease can cause plastic changes in reproductive effort at an individual level, and population-level disease exposure can result in changes to baseline reproductive effort; therefore, individual- and population-level effects of disease should be considered when designing management and conservation programs for threatened and declining species. --
Data from: Disease refuge or ecological trap: location-specific performance of amphibian hotspot shelters
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Data from: Impacts of sequential and simultaneous coinfection by major amphibian pathogens on disease outcomes
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Data from: Disease and climate effects on individuals drive post-reintroduction population dynamics of an endangered amphibian
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Male reproductive effort might be evolving in the face of devastating disease in a threatened amphibian
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Compensatory recruitment unlikely in high elevation amphibian populations challenged with disease
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Synthesis of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection in South America: amphibian species under risk and areas to focus research and disease mitigation
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Data from: Resistance, tolerance and environmental transmission dynamics determine host extinction risk in a load-dependent amphibian disease
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Data from: A novel approach to wildlife transcriptomics provides evidence of disease-mediated differential expression and changes to the microbiome of amphibian populations
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Data from: Anthropogenic and ecological drivers of amphibian disease (Ranavirosis)
Ranaviruses are causing mass amphibian die-offs in North America, Europe and Asia, and have been implicated in the decline of common frog (Rana temporaria) populations in the UK. Despite this, we have very little understanding of the environmental drivers of disease occurrence and prevalence. Using a long term (1992-2000) dataset of public reports of amphibian mortalities, we assess a set of potential predictors of the occurrence and prevalence of Ranavirus-consistent common frog mortality events in Britain. We reveal the influence of biotic and abiotic drivers of this disease, with many of these abiotic characteristics being anthropogenic. Whilst controlling for the geographic distribution of mortality events, disease prevalence increases with increasing frog population density, presence of fish and wild newts, increasing pond depth and the use of garden chemicals. The presence of an alternative host reduces prevalence, potentially indicating a dilution effect. Ranavirosis occurrence is associated with the presence of toads, an urban setting and the use of fish care products, providing insight into the causes of emergence of disease. Links between occurrence, prevalence, pond characteristics and garden management practices provides useful management implications for reducing the impacts of Ranavirus in the wild.
Data from: Seasonal and ontogenetic variation of skin microbial communities and relationships to natural disease dynamics in declining amphibians
Recently, microbiologists have focused on characterizing the probiotic role of skin bacteria for amphibians threatened by the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. However, the specific characteristics of microbial diversity required to maintain health or trigger disease are still not well understood in natural populations. We hypothesized that seasonal and developmental transitions affecting susceptibility to chytridiomycosis could also alter the stability of microbial assemblages. To test our hypothesis, we examined patterns of skin bacterial diversity in two species of declining amphibians (Lithobates yavapaiensis and Eleutherodactylus coqui) affected by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We focused on two important transitions that affect Bd susceptibility: ontogenetic (from juvenile to adult) shifts in E. coqui and seasonal (from summer to winter) shifts in L. yavapaiensis. We used a combination of community-fingerprinting analyses and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to quantify changes in bacterial diversity and assemblage composition between seasons and developmental stages, and to investigate the relationship between bacterial diversity and pathogen load. We found that winter-sampled frogs and juveniles, two states associated with increased Bd susceptibility, exhibited higher diversity compared with summer-sampled frogs and adult individuals. Our findings also revealed that hosts harbouring higher bacterial diversity carried lower Bd infections, providing support for the protective role of bacterial communities. Ongoing work to understand skin microbiome resilience after pathogen disturbance has the potential to identify key taxa involved in disease resistance.
Data from: Microclimate limits thermal behaviour favourable to disease control in a nocturnal amphibian
While epizootics increasingly affect wildlife, it remains poorly understood how the environment shapes most host-pathogen systems. Here, we employ a three-step framework to study microclimate influence on ectotherm host thermal behaviour, focusing on amphibian chytridiomycosis in fire salamanders (<i>Salamandra salamandra</i>) infected with the fungal pathogen <i>Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans</i> (<i>Bsal</i>). Laboratory trials reveal that innate variation in thermal preference, rather than behavioural fever, can inhibit infection and facilitate salamander recovery under humidity-saturated conditions. Yet, a three-year field study and a mesocosm experiment close to the invasive <i>Bsal</i> range show that microclimate constraints suppress host thermal behaviour favourable to disease control. A final mechanistic model, that estimates range-wide, year-round host body temperature relative to local microclimate, suggests that these constraints are rule rather than exception. Our results demonstrate how amphibian innate host defences against epizootics may remain constrained in the wild, which predisposes to range-wide disease outbreaks and population declines.
FIG. 2 in Amphibian Disease Ecology: Are We Just Scratching the Surface?
FIG. 2.—Percentage distribution of investigated pathogens (A) and host life stage (B) in the amphibian disease literature between 2009 and 2019.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.