This Fungus Makes Snakes Look Like Mummies. It Just Turned Up in California. – via Herp Digest

LiveScience by Nicoetta Lettan 11/6/19 

A fungal disease is infecting snakes across the nation, and now, it's reached California. 

A newly emerging disease infects snakes and causes their skin to crust, eyes to cloud and faces to swell — and now, a stricken serpent has been spotted in California.This is the first case of "snake fungal disease" seen in the state, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The infected California kingsnake was found in the Sierra Nevada in Amador County by a member of the public who brought the "emaciated and suffering" animal to a wildlife care center. Tattered skin clung to the animal's warped face, making the cloudy-eyed snake look more like a mummy than a living creature.

As of yet, officials don't know how the disease might impact snake populations in California. Right now, their top priority is to make sure humans don't spread the fungus to snakes across the state. 

There's no danger of humans catching the disfiguring snake disease, though. "There is no evidence that SFD is transmittable from snakes to humans," the report added. 

Scientists first characterized snake fungal disease in 2008 and learned that a fungus called Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola causes the infection, according to CDFW. Since then, researchers have found the infectious organism in 30 snake species in the U.S. and Europe, 23 U.S. states and one Canadian province. Snakes can pick up the fungus through abrasions in their skin or physical contact with infected snakes. A severe infection causes the skin to become bumpy and molt repeatedly, while the affected snake's face may become too disfigured for the animal to feed properly. The weakened snakes tend to rest in open areas, vulnerable to the elements and nearby predators. 

While O. ophiodiicola stands as the leading cause of skin infection among wild snakes, the contagion often only causes a mild infection and doesn't kill the affected animal, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Environmental changes may be behind the "recent emergence of severe and fatal infections in some snake populations," USGS scientists said. 

Snake fungal disease poses a threat to dwindling snake populations, including the timber rattlesnake and the federally threatened eastern massasauga, according to the CDFW statement. Officials encourage the public to report any sightings of snakes with skin sores or unusual behavior, but avoid handling or disturbing the animals. Just this week, the fungus was detected in tissues from a dead Florida water snake found by the CDFW in Folsom, Sacramento County, according to the organization's report.

A deadly fungus is killing millions of bats in the U.S. Now it's in California

JULY 5, 2019

by Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times

A mysterious fungus that has killed millions of bats in the eastern United States and left caves littered with their tiny carcasses has arrived in Northern California and appears poised to spread throughout the state, according to officials.

Government biologists confirmed Friday that a number of bats found near Lassen Volcanic National Park had tested positive for the germ that causes white-nose syndrome—a relatively new disease that leaves a trademark smudge of white on the infected animal's muzzle.

The illness, which is caused by a cold-loving fungus, appeared suddenly in the Northeast just over a decade ago and has moved steadily west. The fungus has devastated North American bat species in some regions and pushed the natural pest controllers toward extinction.

According to California biologists, the fungus was detected in four bats found roosting within houses and a bank building in the town of Chester, about 15 miles southeast of the park. The first case was detected a year ago, and the others much more recently, officials said.

"We all thought we were going to have more time before it got this far west," said Winifred Frick, a UC Santa Cruz biologist and chief scientist with Bat Conservation International. "We should all be very concerned about this heartbreaking discovery."

Since it was first discovered in New York 12 years ago, the fungus has swept across 38 states, and killed legions of bats. A majority of the dead were little brown bats—one of the most common mammals in North America—but scientists say that most of the 45 species of bats in the U.S. and Canada may be susceptible to the disease. (The fungus is not known to cause illness in humans, according to officials.)

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'Flying salt shakers of death:' Fungal-infected 'zombie' cicadas

Date:  June 25, 2019

Source:  West Virginia University

If cicadas made horror movies, they'd probably study the actions of their counterparts plagued by a certain psychedelic fungus.

West Virginia University researchers have discovered that a cicada fungus called Massopora contains chemicals similar to those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The fungus causes cicadas to lose their limbs and eccentric behavior sets in: Males try to mate with everything they encounter, although the fungus has consumed their genitals and butts.

Despite the horrid physical state of infected cicadas, they continue to roam around freely as if nothing's wrong, dousing other cicadas with a dose of their disease.

You've heard of "The Walking Dead." This is "The Flying Dead."

"They are only zombies in the sense that the fungus is in control of their bodies," said Matt Kasson, assistant professor of forest pathology and one of the study's authors.

Cicadas first encounter the fungus underground where they spend 13 to 17 years before emerging to the surface as adults, Kasson said. Within seven to 10 days above ground, the abdomen begins to slough off revealing the fungal infection at the end of the cicada, he continued.

It's quite the coming out party.

"Infected adults maintain or accelerate normal host activity during sporulation, enabling rapid and widespread dispersal prior to host death," Kasson said. "They also engage in hypersexual behaviors."

Read on

Frogs Tote Tiny Radios to Save Their Species – via Herp Digest

Scientists recently released hundreds of harlequin frogs to learn more about a deadly fungus pushing the species to extinction.

By Sarah Gibbons National Geographic January18, 2018

Hundreds of colorful frogs, barely the size of a palm, have been released into the wilds of Panama in the hopes of reviving a critically endangered species.

The variable harlequin frogs, raised in captivity at a Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute facility in Panama are part of an experiment to see how the amphibians will fare in a country besieged by a pervasive and deadly disease. The population has declined by more than 80 percent over the last three generations, and in Panama, wild populations exist only in some protected areas.

The scientists gave 500 frogs a unique marking visible under UV light, while 30 additional frogs were released wearing miniature radio transmitters, says Brian Gratwicke, international coordinator for the Smithsonian's Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project and a National Geographic Explorer.

The Smithsonian team staged a similar release with another species of harlequin frog last June. Here, one wears a small radio transmitter. Because of heavy rains, the research team was unable to take photographs of the radio-wearing frogs from this recent release. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROSHAN PATEL

Over the next few months, scientists will watch closely to see where the black-and-yellow splotched frogs go—and if they survive.

While the amphibians face some threats from habitat loss and the illegal trade, by far their biggest threat is chytrid fungus, which has destroyed many of Central America's frog populations.

HOW THE FUNGUS SPREAD

Found throughout Panama since the 1990s, the fungus feeds on live vertebrates and causes a disease in amphibians called chytridiomycosis. Scientists believe it primarily affects frogs' skin, which is how they breathe and take in water. (See 13 Gorgeous Pictures Remind Us Why Frogs Need Our Help.")

In captivity, the disease can be treated with antifungal medication, but "it's been causing devastating effects for New World frog populations," says Gratwicke.

In Panama, the fungus caused a massive frog population die-off and is thought to be responsible for the extinction of the golden toad.

According to Gratwicke, scientists believe trade may have facilitated the spread of chytrid. It's thought to have originated in Mexico in the 1970s before it trickled south to Costa Rica in the 1980s. (Read about vanishing amphibians in National Geographic magazine.)

Jonathan Kolby, a National Geographic Explorer who studies how chytrid impacts frogs in Honduras, notes that the fungus occurs naturally, but during the mid 20th century, two different strains mutated.

"What seems to have forced that change is human activity. Two strains were brought together and created the global pathogenic strain," he says.

By the time scientists identified the strain it was too late for much of the infected regions. Once chytrid is introduced in an environment, it can't be removed without also harming frog populations.

SEARCHING FOR SAFE HAVENS

Gratwicke and his team hope that by tracking where the newly released frogs disperse, they can determine where amphibians are more susceptible to chytrid. The fungus is known to thrive in cold, moist environments. (Read "The Search for Missing Frogs Brings Some Species Back From the Dead.")

"The area where we're conducting the release is a lowland area, and there have been some hypotheses that perhaps if you release frogs in warmer areas, it might act as a climactic barrier" against the disease, says Gratwicke.

"If we do collect enough data," Gratwicke adds, "that would enable us to map refuges."

Kolby is less hopeful that such regions exist: "I'm not optimistic that there are clearly defined natural areas to evade chytrid.”

ALTERNATIVE METHODS

Instead, he's looking at how scientists can manipulate environments to prevent chytrid from growing. Acidity, for example, is thought to slow down chytrid, and some aquatic environments can be made more or less acidic based on the level of vegetation.

In rare cases, some harlequin frogs have also shown resistance to chytrid, but experts don't yet know it the animals are adapting—or just lucky. (See "African Clawed Frog Spreads Deadly Amphibian Fungus.")

"The prospects are that the fungus will cause high mortality in this population," Gratwicke said of the 530 newly released frogs.

Even so, this population will help determine where to release more captive frogs in the future.

Insect Walking Dead: How a Fungus Turns Beetles into Killer Zombies

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | June 15, 2017 07:11am ET 

A fungus worthy of its own horror film is on the loose, taking over the bodies of goldenrod soldier beetles and turning them into contagious zombies that can infect their beetle brethren, a new study finds.

The fungus has a creepy but foolproof modus operandi: About two weeks after it infects the goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus), it orders the beetle to climb up a plant and clamp its mandibles around a flower.

Then, the beetle dies, swinging like a scarecrow from the flower and giving the fungus ample opportunity to infect nearby beetles, said study lead investigator Donald Steinkraus, a professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas.

Steinkraus first spotted these bizarre, zombie-like beetles on a research farm in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He remembers seeing hundreds of yellow-and-black soldier beetles on a patch of blooming wild asters. The beetles were eating pollen and mating — "the flowers were sort of like a dating site that also offered food," Steinkraus told Live Science in an email.

Read on 

'Perfect storm' threatens Europe's salamanders

By Helen Briggs BBC News

Urgent action is needed to protect wild salamanders in Europe from a deadly infection, say scientists.

The disease may end up wiping out all vulnerable species, with zoos and gene banks the only conservation option, they warn.

A fungal infection introduced to northern Europe several years ago behaves as a "perfect storm", say experts.

It persists in the environment and may be spread by newts and birds.

The fungus, known as B. salamandrivorans, or Bsal, killed almost all fire salamanders in an outbreak in The Netherlands in 2014.

Since then, there have been outbreaks in wild salamanders and newts in Belgium and Germany.

Researchers led by An Martel of Ghent University in Belgium, are calling for urgent monitoring across Europe.

However, they say that there are few options to prevent the disease spreading in the wild, meaning conservation efforts should focus on zoos, captive breeding and gene banks.

 

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US Wildlife Officials Team Up To Save Populations Of Salamanders – via Herp Digest

June 2,2016, 8:47 am EDT By Alyssa Navarro Tech Times

With a deadly fungus threatening the population of salamanders, experts across the United States are working together to hunt for these amphibians and find out whether the disease has already affected them.

Wildlife officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are partnering to ensure that measures to combat Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) are working.

Bsal is the fungal pathogen that has been proven to be lethal to amphibians all over the world. Earlier this year, the FWS banned the trade and importation transfer of 201 salamander species in order to halt the spread of this fungus.

Although no reports of Bsal have occurred in North America yet, its deadliness to amphibians has left officials on the defensive. They fear that Bsal could be the biggest fungal threat ever since the outbreak of the white-nose syndrome in U.S. bats.

Salamanders' ecological importance has pushed scientists to make the fight against Bsal a significant conservationist work. These amphibians' place in the food chain include results in insect control and reliable nourishment for bigger animals.

Unfortunately, the decline in salamander population has had major effects on climate change and soil quality. And when Bsal arrived in Europe, it resulted in a 96 percent fatality rate among infected salamander species.

An Martel, a Belgian professor from Ghent University, says very few salamanders are left after the devastating wipeout in Europe. Martel first discovered Bsal's impact on Dutch salamanders.

"It has had a huge impact. The populations where the fungus is present are almost gone," says Martel. "We don't find any salamanders anymore."

Dan Ashe, the director of FWS, said in January that because Bsal has the potential to kill all native salamanders in the U.S., they are doing everything in their power to preserve and protect these amphibians.

FWS and USGS will analyze 10,000 individual salamanders across North America, which is home to about one-third of all 655 known species of salamanders. Their goal is to make sure the fungus is not present in any of the local species.

Fortunately, news from research has been good so far. Evan Grant, a biologist for the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative, says a national survey of newts, which are relatives of salamanders, is almost complete. About 1,000 salamanders have also been studied so far by the USGS with zero cases of Bsal.

- See more at: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/162543/20160602/us-wildlife-officials-team-up-to-save-populations-of-salamanders.htm#sthash.0LhYpi7l.dpuf

Service Lists 201 Salamander Species as Injurious to Help Keep Lethal Fungus Out of U.S. - via Herp Digest

Press Release, USF&WS, January 12, 2016 

To help prevent a deadly fungus from killing native salamanders, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today declared 201 salamander species as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act prohibits the import and interstate trade of listed species. The fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, also known as Bsal or salamander chytrid, has wreaked havoc on salamander species overseas and poses an imminent threat to native salamander populations. The fungus is not yet known to be found in the United States, and to help ensure it remains that way, the Service is publishing an interim rule that will take effect on January 28, 2016.

“The United States has the greatest diversity of native salamanders in the world, which play a critical role in maintaining our nation’s rich and diverse ecosystems,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “The Bsal fungus has the ability to devastate our native salamander populations, and we are doing everything in our power to protect and preserve these essential amphibians for future generations.”

A species can be listed under the Lacey Act because it is injurious to the health and welfare of humans; the interests of forestry, agriculture, or horticulture; or the welfare and survival of wildlife or the resources that wildlife depend upon. In listing these species, the Service is responding to science that shows that Bsal is an imminent threat to U.S. wildlife.

Permits may be granted for the importation or transportation of specimens of injurious wildlife for scientific, medical, educational or zoological purposes. For purposes of this listing, the prohibition includes importation or interstate transport of live and dead animals, including parts. The Lacey Act does not restrict intrastate (within state) transport.

Owners of any of the animals listed as injurious will be allowed to keep them under this rule. For animals already in the United States, this rule only restricts interstate transportation. It will be lawful for pet owners to keep their pets (if allowed by state law).

Concurrent with publication of the interim rule in the Federal Register, the Service is opening a 60-day comment period. All comments will be considered before the Service makes its final rule on the designation. The instructions for submitting public comments can be found by visiting www.regulations.gov and entering the docket number FWS-HQ-FAC-2015-0005. More information on this interim rule, including supporting documents is available at: http://www.fws.gov/injuriouswildlife/.

Contact(s):
Christina Meister, christina_meister@fws.gov, (703) 358-2284

Fungus causes emerging snake disease found in Eastern US

Date: November 17, 2015

Source: American Society for Microbiology

Researchers working for the U.S. Geological Survey have identified the fungal culprit behind an often deadly skin infection in snakes in the eastern U.S. Published this week in mBio, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, the research shows that Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola is the definitive cause of snake fungal disease (SFD), which will help researchers pinpoint why it is emerging as a threat to snake populations and how its impacts can be mitigated.

SFD joins a list of fungal diseases causing decimation to animal populations, including white-nose syndrome in bats and chytridiomycosis in frogs and amphibians. Different fungi cause the three conditions, but their potential for destruction raises concerns.

"Unlike many bacterial and viral pathogens, fungal spores can live in the environment without a host," explains Jeffrey Lorch, a microbiologist at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin. "And that means that as the host population declines, the fungus can persist in the environment, which could potentially mean it could drive hosts to extinction."

Since 2009, Lorch and his colleagues at the center have diagnosed SFD in seven species of snakes from nine different states, all in the eastern half of the U.S. In some species, such as massasauga rattlesnakes found in Illinois, the infection appears to have a mortality rate of 100%. For other species, the infection is not as deadly. "There is a fear thatOphidiomyces could drive at least some populations of snakes to extinction," says Lorch.

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These social bees farm and eat fungus or die

Date:October 22, 2015

Source:Cell Press

Researchers have discovered that a social, stingless bee from Brazil feeds its larvae on a special type of fungus grown in the nest. Without it, very few young survive, according to a report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 22.

The discovery marks the first such relationship between a social bee and cultivated fungus. The findings also raise concerns about the use of fungicides in agriculture, the researchers say.

"These bees do not survive without the fungus," says Cristiano Menezes of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). "This is amazing because it opens up a new field in bee research to understand the role of this and other microorganisms in colony health. On the other hand, it is frightening because fungicides and bactericides are widely sprayed during blooming periods of several crops and may affect bees' symbionts and consequently their health."

The researchers made the discovery quite by accident. Menezes was on a quest to produce queens of the Brazilian stingless bee (Scaptotrigona depilis) in the lab. When he kept the developing bees in a humid chamber, he saw a lot of white fungus begin to grow out of control, and then the larvae died. He thought it was some kind of a disease plaguing the bees.

Read more ...

Sometimes, it’s better not to fight the frog-killing fungus - Herp Digest

By Elizabeth Pennisi 9/18/15 Science| DOI: 10.1126/science.aad1786 (ScienceShot Blog)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to get the immune system all worked up against an infection. Since 1998, the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has spread to half the world’s amphibians, eating away their skin, causing heart failure, and killing many of those infected. Last year, though, researchers suggested that one solution might be to “vaccinate” frogs against this killer. But that approach could backfire, Anna Savage, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, reported this week at the Frontiers in Phylogenetics meeting here at the National Museum of Natural History. She and her colleagues study the lowland leopard frog, Lithobates yavapaiensis, native to the American Southwest to understand how this species persists despite periodical die-offs from fungal infection. They collected eggs from different locations, exposing some to the fungus. 

Then they counted the frogs’ white blood cells and looked at what genes were active in the skin and spleen, matching what they found with the animals’ survival over time. To their surprise, they found that the frogs that mounted the most vigorous specific or “acquired” immune response did the worst. The fungus kills off those white blood cells, so the frog making lots of them “is like throwing gas on the fire,” she reported. Thus a vaccine that stimulates this immune response “might not be a great idea,” and instead, a better treatment might be to suppress the immune system, she said. She intends to look at the disease in wild populations to see whether these results hold up there as well.

Urgent action needed to protect salamanders from deadly fungus, scientists warn

Biologists call for importation ban to stave off mass extinctions of North American species

Date:

July 30, 2015

Source:

San Francisco State University

Summary:

The deadly fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans could cause salamander population declines and extinctions if brought to North America via international trade, biologists warn. They are calling for the federal government to place an immediate ban on salamander imports to the United States until a plan is in place to detect and prevent the fungus' spread.

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Snake fungal disease parallels white-nose syndrome in bats

Date: June 18, 2015

Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Summary: A deadly fungal infection afflicting snakes is eerily similar to the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, researchers report. Although the snake fungus and the bat fungus inhabit different ecological niches and thrive at different temperature and humidity ranges, the fungi share basic traits that allow them to persist across a range of habitats and infect multiple species, the researchers say.

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Stopping the Next Amphibian Apocalypse-Salamanders - via Herp Digest

By KAREN R. LIPS and JOSEPH R. MENDELSON III, NOV. 14, 2014, NY Times

FOR the past 25 years we have watched helplessly as a wide range of amphibians around the world have died from a pathogenic fungus, known as Bd (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Now, yet another fungal contagion appears to have been unleashed. This one is spreading among salamanders in parts of Europe and threatens devastation.

This new menace, known as Bs (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans), appears to have invaded Europe from Asia by way of the pet trade. In Asia, salamanders carry the infection but don’t become sick from it. But European salamanders are particularly susceptible to its pathogenic effects. The mortality rate is 96 percent. The fungus has also been fatal to American salamanders in lab tests.

This fungus has not arrived in the United States yet, so far as we know. But if it does, it is likely to spread across the country, as it appears to be doing in Europe, with catastrophic consequences. The continental United States has more species of salamanders than any other place on earth.

Much remains to be discovered about the biology of this fungus. But its similarity to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has scientists deeply worried. That pathogen has decimated amphibian populations across the planet, resulting in the extinction of many species. Its origin remains unknown, though its rise clearly seems to have been abetted by the global trade in amphibians.

The fungus had spread widely before scientists even detected what was happening. Once we did, it was too late. Watching those die-offs has left biologists like ourselves feeling at times more like paleontologists.

Unless the United States becomes more aggressive in its approach to live animal imports, this latest threat will reach our country. The pet trade imports millions of wild-caught Asian salamanders. As a nation, we are both blindfolded and handcuffed against the threat of invasive wildlife disease.

To protect America’s native salamanders, immediate steps should be taken to halt the importation of nonnative ones. We also need laws requiring the testing of all imported live animals for disease to keep out those infected with pathogens or parasites. Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans is the latest emerging infectious disease threat, but there is no reason to believe it will be the last.

The Fish and Wildlife Service holds the key to quick action. Under the Lacey Act, passed in 1900 to protect wildlife, the agency can block the importation of a species by declaring it potentially injurious to native wildlife and habitat. The declaration would also regulate trade across state lines.

Congress should also approve the Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act, which is awaiting action in the House and Senate. This legislation would substantially improve the ability of the Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor and control invasive fish and wildlife species and diseases.

Live-animal importers should also step up and stop importing salamanders. In the past, voluntary measures by the industry helped prevent the transmission of fish diseases in the aquaculture industry. Informational and educational campaigns about the threat are also vital.

Preventing an invasion by Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans is a conservation and policy-making challenge, but it also offers a chance to apply lessons from the apocalyptic spread of 

That invasion continues to haunt field biologists. We encountered tropical forests practically devoid of amphibians that were once teeming with dozens of species of them. We watched mass die-offs. We tried to save threatened species by airlifting them out of infected areas, breeding them in captivity and searching for answers through field and lab research.

None of it worked. No cure exists for wild populations. Losses of amphibians continued around the globe. We’ve seen no significant recovery of populations. Worse, the fungus persists in the environment, preventing the reintroduction of captive animals.

This time, we have ample warning to prevent the arrival of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans into the United States. We know what kind of killer we’re dealing with. A global network of biologists is studying its movements. Government agencies are on the alert.

Let’s get it right this time.

New Study: Deadly Skin-eating Fungus Threatens to Wipe Out Salamanders-International Trade Could Bring Highly Lethal Disease to United States PRESS RELEASE - 10/30/14 CENTER FOR BIOLGICAL DIVERSITY- via HerpDigest

WASHINGTON— The journal Science today published a study documenting a new threat to the world’s salamanders from a deadly skin-eating fungus. A relative of the killer chytrid fungus that has devastated frog populations, the new disease called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bs, is sweeping through salamander populations in Europe. While the disease has not yet reached the United States, scientists found that imports of infected individuals pose a risk of spreading the highly lethal disease to native salamanders in the United States.

“If this disease is allowed to spread here in the United States, our salamanders will die off in mass numbers,” said the Center’s Collette Adkins Giese, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney and biologist who works to save endangered reptiles and amphibians. “Chytrid fungus, along with the white-nose syndrome that’s wiping out millions of our bats, has shown the devastating impacts of wildlife diseases. We need to do everything in our power to protect our nation’s amphibians and prevent the spread of this disease.”

The new fungus appears to specifically target salamanders and has practically wiped out fire salamanders in the Netherlands, reducing that population to only 4 percent of what it was just four years ago. It kills the amphibians by eating through their skin, exposing them to lethal bacterial infections. Luckily for other amphibians, the new fungus does not appear to kill frogs and toads.

Results from lab tests show that the disease is especially lethal to newts, which are a kind of salamander. Several species of newts are found in the United States, including the eastern newt, a common aquarium pet that is collected from the wild or purchased. The striped newt, found in Florida and Georgia, has been a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection since 2011.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must act fast to keep this disease from infecting wild salamanders in the United States,” said Peter Jenkins, President of the Center for Invasive Species Prevention. “With nearly 200 species, the United States is a global hotspot of salamander biodiversity. If we don’t act fast, we could lose these vital and popular animals from the wild.”

Infected individuals could reach the United States through the extensive commercial salamander trade. For example, more than 2.3 million individuals of Chinese fire-bellied newt were imported into the United States from 2001 to 2009. According to the study published today, the new fungus can effectively be transmitted across multiple salamander species through direct contact. The study warns that “the process of globalization with its associated human and animal traffic can rapidly erode ancient barriers to pathogen transmission” and these pathogens have “the potential to rapidly pose a threat of extinction.”

Scientists have developed a DNA-based test for detecting Bs, and infected animals held in captivity can be effectively treated with antifungal baths. But once the disease enters wild populations, it is nearly impossible to stop its spread to new populations. Environmental groups are calling for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to suspend all imports of salamanders into the United States unless they are certified to be free of the fungus. 

 ______________________________

Collette L. Adkins Giese

Amphibian and Reptile Senior Attorney

Center for Biological Diversity

651-955-3821

CAdkinsGiese@BiologicalDiversity.org

http://www.BiologicalDiversity.org