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Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Chytridiomycosis in Anuran Amphibians of Colombia

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Abstract

In order to investigate the possible presence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Chytridiomycota: Chytridiales) in frogs (Amphibia: Anura) of Colombia, we made a retrospective examination of formalin-fixed specimens preserved in natural history collections. Using the staining technique of hematoxylin and eosin to identify B. dendrobatidis in histological slices, we found evidence of the fungus in 3 of the 53 frog species examined from a total of 672 specimens collected in 17 departments within Colombia between 1968 and 2006. The infected specimens were found dead or dying in recent years in high elevation sites, suggesting that chytridiomycosis (the disease caused by the fungus) may represent a significant threat to Colombian amphibians. We conclude that a more extensive search for B. dendrobatidis in museum specimens and wild-caught frogs should be undertaken as soon as possible, using both histological and molecular genetic techniques, in order to further characterize the geographic and taxonomic extent of infections of B. dendrobatidis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the following curators for the loan of material and their kind permission to take skin samples: John D. Lynch of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Andrés Acosta of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; and Juan Manuel Renjifo, formerly of the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. We also thank Rafael Rubio, Diana Galindo, Angélica Pérez, and Andrés Diavanera for the loan of their Eleutherodactylus elegans and Hyloscirtus bogotensis individuals. For their patient advice and instructions examining the histological material for the presence of B. dendrobatidis, we thank Diana Méndez and Lee Berger of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University, Australia, and Andrés Merino of the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Ecuador. Thanks to Andrew Crawford for the translation and critical revision of this document, and Ariadne Angulo and Álvaro Andrés Velásquez for the careful revision of the final manuscript. Finally, thanks to Enrique La Marca and an anonymous evaluator, who enriched this document enormously with their commentaries. This work was financed by a grant from the Programa de Especies Amenazadas de Conservación Internacional Colombia and funds provided by the Darwin Initiative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 78 p No. 35 19 sur, Bogotá, Colombia

    Angélica Ruiz

  2. Threatened Species Program, Conservación Internacional—Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

    José Vicente Rueda-Almonacid

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  1. Angélica Ruiz
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  2. José Vicente Rueda-Almonacid
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Correspondence to Angélica Ruiz.

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Ruiz, A., Rueda-Almonacid, J.V. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Chytridiomycosis in Anuran Amphibians of Colombia. EcoHealth 5, 27–33 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-008-0159-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-008-0159-z

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