The Disease That Kills The Amphibians Of The Planet
While we often think that threats to wildlife come only from fires or hunting, there are far less visible dangers, but with far more damaging effects – the disease that kills the planet’s amphibians is one example.
The disease that kills amphibians
The amphibian-killing disease comes from the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , which causes chithridiomycosis. This disease can affect almost any amphibian on the planet. In fact, 500 species of this group have been affected by this fungus and 90 have become extinct.
This makes the fungus that causes the amphibian-killing disease the most harmful invasive alien species on the planet. This mushroom is native to Africa, where it hardly affects frogs and other amphibians.
However, the fungus has spread to other continents. Chithridiomycosis affects the skin of amphibians, which is essential for their survival as it has functions in their breathing.
The skin of amphibians is also essential for the homeostasis of gas and water, as well as for their immune defenses. This disease causes heart failure in animals. This phenomenon has been observed in more than 60 countries.
Data on the disease
Australia and South America are the most affected areas. It is very difficult to try to eliminate this fungus, because it is present in the environment and in other species where it does not cause problems. A team of researchers has listed all the taxa affected by the disease: there are exactly 501 species of amphibians affected by chithridiomycosis.
But the most alarming fact is that 90 species of amphibians have disappeared from our planet due to this deadly fungus. Many ignore the enormous biodiversity of the amphibian group: there are more than 8000 species, a third of which are found in South America. Unfortunately, the amphibians of South America are among the most affected.
The risk of this disease reaching places like the Andes raises the concern of scientists, who warn us about the role of the amphibian trade in the spread of the fungus.
This fungus, in fact, also spreads through the action of man (with the aforementioned trade in amphibians) and some animals such as wading birds.
Theories on the spread of the fungus
Some researchers believe that the fungus has always been present in many countries, but that today it is spreading due to the immunodeficiencies present in amphibians due to human activity. However, this hypothesis seems somewhat unlikely.
One of the most widespread theories is that an African frog is responsible for the spread of the fungus, or rather, the use that man has made of this frog. For 30 years this animal has been used for the production of pregnancy tests.
Because of this, it spread across the planet along with the fungus it carried. The disease that kills amphibians raises many concerns in wildlife conservation.
