Abstract
Infection records of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a pathogen that has devastated amphibian populations worldwide, have rapidly increased since the pathogen’s discovery. Dealing with so many records makes it difficult to (a) know where, when and in which species infections have been detected, (b) understand how widespread and pervasive Bd is and (c) prioritize study and management areas. We conducted a systematic review of papers and compiled a database with Bd infection records. Our dataset covers 71 amphibian families and 119 countries. The data revealed how widespread and adaptable Bd is, being able to infect over 50% of all tested amphibian species, with over 1000 confirmed host species and being present in 86 countries. The distribution of infected species is uneven among and within countries. Areas where the distributions of many infected species overlap are readily visible; these are regions where Bd likely develops well. Conversely, areas where the distributions of species that tested negative overlap, such as the Atlantic Coast in the USA, suggest the presence of Bd refuges. Finally, we report how the number of tested and infected species has changed through time, and provide a list of oldest detection records per country.
Highlights
The parasitic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been associated with amphibian declines across the world
As environmental conditions change so does the severity of Bd infection, the species that it infects and the range that is suitable for infection to develop (Burrowes et al 2004; Rohr and Raffel 2010; Bosch et al 2018)
Few species from countries like Laos and Tanzania are present in the data, making it difficult to draw conclusions on how widespread and prevalent Bd is in those countries
Summary
The parasitic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been associated with amphibian declines across the world. Olson and Ronnenberg (2014) have shown Bd infections in 71 countries and 695 species, a number often cited to illustrate the scale of the pandemic This compilation of data has produced valuable insight into how widespread and pervasive Bd is, revealing the distribution of infected species and showing how traits and environmental conditions are associated with infection. The arrival of a Bd lineage to a new location where a different Bd lineage was already present brings about the possibility of hybridization Two such hybrids have been found (Byrne et al 2019), and there are observations that hybrids can be more virulent than the parental species (Greenspan et al 2018). This last point is highly relevant in light of the recent discovery of Bd lineages in regions where they were not known to be present (Byrne et al 2019)
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