1. Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans Threat to the Iberian Urodele Hotspot
- Author
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Barbora Thumsová, Jarrod Sopniewski, César Ayres, An Martel, Ben C. Scheele, Guillermo Velo-Antón, Jaime Bosch, Frank Pasmans, European Commission, Comunidad de Madrid, and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal)
- Subjects
Biosecurity ,Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ,COMMON MIDWIFE TOAD ,Captivity ,Plant Science ,LISSOTRITON-BOSCAI CAUDATA ,PHYLOGEOGRAPHY ,Chytridiomycosis ,Biology (General) ,threat ,PLEURODELES-WALTL ,POPULATION ,education.field_of_study ,Surveillance ,Ecology ,biology ,ICHTHYOSAURA-ALPESTRIS ,Amphibian chytrid fungus ,humanities ,medicine.drug_formulation_ingredient ,surveillance ,amphibian chytrid fungus ,Microbiology (medical) ,Evolution ,QH301-705.5 ,Population ,Zoology ,NUCLEAR ,GOLDEN-STRIPED SALAMANDER ,conservation-units ,Article ,salamanders ,Behavior and Systematics ,EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY ,biology.animal ,medicine ,Veterinary Sciences ,CHIOGLOSSA-LUSITANICA ,Salamanders ,education ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Threat ,Conservation-units ,Portugal ,Outbreak ,chytridiomycosis ,Phylogeography ,Spain ,Salamander ,biosecurity - Abstract
The recent introduction of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans into north-eastern Spain threatens salamander diversity on the Iberian Peninsula. We assessed the current epidemiological situation with extensive field sampling of urodele populations. We then sought to delineate priority regions and identify conservation units for the Iberian Peninsula by estimating the susceptibility of Iberian urodeles using laboratory experiments, evidence from mortality events in nature and captivity and inference from phylogeny. None of the 1395 field samples, collected between 2015 and 2021 were positive for Bsal and no Bsal-associated mortality events were recorded, in contrast to the confirmed occurrence of Bsal outbreak previously described in 2018. We classified five of eleven Iberian urodele species as highly susceptible, predicting elevated mortality and population declines following potential Bsal emergence in the wild, five species as intermediately susceptible with variable disease outcomes and one species as resistant to disease and mortality. We identified the six conservation units (i.e., species or lineages within species) at highest risk and propose priority areas for active disease surveillance and field biosecurity measures. The magnitude of the disease threat identified here emphasizes the need for region-tailored disease abatement plans that couple active disease surveillance to rapid and drastic actions., This research was funded by the European Commission (Tender ENV.B.3/SER/2016/0028, Mitigating a new infectious disease in salamanders to counteract the loss of biodiversity), the Foundation for the Conservation of Salamanders (project “Monitoring the incidence of emerging pathogens on endemic urodeles from the Cantabrian range, Spain”). B.T. was supported by a ‘Doctorados Industriales’ grant of Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (ref. IND2020/AMB-17438). G.V.-A. was financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; CEECIND/00937/2018). B.C.S. was supported by an ARC DECRA (DE200100121).
- Published
- 2021