November
20, 2018, University of
Exeter
Frogs
from groups exposed to a deadly virus are breeding at younger ages, new
research suggests.
Scientists
studying European common frogs in the UK compared groups
("populations") exposed to ranavirus and those free from the disease.
While the
youngest breeding frogs in disease-free populations are four years old, frogs
in virus-exposed groups breed as young as two.
The
reasons for this are not yet clear, but the team—led by researchers from the
University of Exeter and the Zoological Society of London—warn that this
decrease in breeding age means disease-exposed populations are at greater risk
of local extinction sparked by environmental changes.
Frogs
gather at breeding spots such as ponds and then disperse, but most return to
the same ponds year after year.
"Our
research shows that the ages of the frogs that return to breed varies between
populations which are known to have ranavirus and those which don't," said
Dr. Lewis Campbell, who conducted the research during his Ph.D. at the
University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.
"We
found significantly fewer old frogs and significantly more young frogs at
populations which have ranavirus.
"It's
possible that the more times an older frog returns
to the same infected breeding pond, the more likely they are to become diseased
and die.
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