Abstract
Understanding how animal behavior can influence the susceptibility of endangered hosts to emerging pathogens and using this knowledge to ameliorate negative effects of infectious wildlife diseases is a promising avenue in conservation biology. Chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in amphibians has led to the most spectacular disease-borne loss of vertebrate biodiversity ever recorded in history. Unfortunately, the methods of mitigation that are available today are only practical in captive populations, and an effective method that could be applied in natural habitats without inflicting vast collateral damage is lacking. We suggest here that the thermal tolerance mismatch between Bd and its ectothermic hosts coupled with the thermoregulatory behavior of amphibians could be exploited in mitigation interventions combating Bd infection in situ. If microhabitats with elevated temperatures are made available in their natural environment, individuals taking advantage of the possibility to reach their preferred body temperature could critically lower their infection intensity or even clear the pathogen. We provide a basis for studying this approach by reviewing the evidence that supports the idea, describing how technical difficulties may be overcome, pointing out gaps in our knowledge that need to be filled by future studies, and listing presumable bene fits and probable limitations of localized heating. The proposed approach has good potential to become an effective in situ mitigation method that can be easily employed in a wide taxonomic range of amphibians, especially in species that are warm-adapted, while causing less collateral damage than any other method that is currently available. If so, it may quickly become a widely applicable tool of biodiversity conservation and may contribute to saving many amphibian populations and species from extinction in the next few decades.
Highlights
Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife pose a serious threat to biodiversity
Deployable and effective measures of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd)-mitigation are urgently needed for averting the ongoing biodiversity crisis caused by chytridiomycosis
After an epizootic caused by Bd lead to sharp declines in previously stable amphibian metapopulations, a slow recovery may occur in some species (Newell et al., 2013; Knapp et al., 2016; Scheele et al., 2017; Voyles et al., 2018), but many others will be extinct
Summary
Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife pose a serious threat to biodiversity. They can have large economic costs via spillover to livestock and, if zoonotic, they may threaten human health (Daszak et al, 2000). We outline the basic idea, list evidence providing support for its potential, describe how it could be realized technically, point out knowledge gaps that need to be filled before its application, list presumable benefits and probable limitations, and thereby provide a basis for researching this promising approach
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
