1. Biotic and abiotic determinants of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infections in amphibians of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
- Author
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Anat M. Belasen, Luís Felipe Toledo, Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar, Carolina Lambertini, Clarisse M. Betancourt-Román, Thomas S. Jenkinson, Igor Soares de Oliveira, Timothy Y. James, C. Guilherme Becker, Carlos Henrique L. Nunes-de-Almeida, Domingos da Silva Leite, David Rodriguez, Tamí Mott, Joice Ruggeri, João Luiz Gasparini, and Kelly R. Zamudio
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Abiotic component ,Biotic component ,Ecology ,biology ,Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ,Host (biology) ,Ecological Modeling ,Species diversity ,Plant Science ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Latitude ,Habitat ,Species richness ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Latitudinal gradients are linked to the dynamics of infectious diseases. Both prevalence and infection intensity of the amphibian-killing fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), vary with latitude. Here, we tested whether abiotic and biotic factors are associated with Bd infection prevalence and intensity along a large latitudinal gradient across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We detected a positive association between infection prevalence and infection intensity with latitude; elevation, temperature and precipitation best explained infection prevalence, while temperature best explained infection intensity. We also detected a positive association between species richness and Bd infections and associations between Bd infections with host reproductive biology and habitat type. This represents the longest and most thoroughly sampled latitudinal gradient of Bd in anuran populations. Our results corroborate earlier findings that abiotic factors are a major determinant of Bd infections and highlight the need for a better understanding of the role that species diversity plays in disease outcomes.
- Published
- 2021