Exploring the Distribution of the Spreading Lethal Salamander Chytrid Fungus in Its Invasive Range in Europe – A Macroecological Approach

Feldmeier, Stephan; Schefczyk, Lukas; Wagner, Norman; Heinemann, Günther; Veith, Michael; Lötters, Stefan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165682

Cited by 39 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Climate conditions suitable for Bsal modelled earlier in Feldmeier et al. () also support the possibility of further Bsal spread in Europe.…”

Section: Assessmentsupporting

confidence: 67%

Risk of survival, establishment and spread of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in the EU

Miranda²,

Bicout

et al. 2018

EFS2

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Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is an emerging fungal pathogen of salamanders. Despite limited surveillance, Bsal was detected in kept salamanders populations in Belgium, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and in wild populations in some regions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. According to niche modelling, at least part of the distribution range of every salamander species in Europe overlaps with the climate conditions predicted to be suitable for Bsal. Passive surveillance is considered the most suitable approach for detection of Bsal emergence in wild populations. Demonstration of Bsal absence is considered feasible only in closed populations of kept susceptible species. In the wild, Bsal can spread by both active (e.g. salamanders, anurans) and passive (e.g. birds, water) carriers; it is most likely maintained/spread in infected areas by contacts of salamanders or by interactions with anurans, whereas human activities most likely cause Bsal entry into new areas and populations. In kept amphibians, Bsal contamination via live silent carriers (wild birds and anurans) is considered extremely unlikely. The risk-mitigation measures that were considered the most feasible and effective: (i) for ensuring safer international or intra-EU trade of live salamanders, are: ban or restrictions on salamander imports, hygiene procedures and good practice manuals; (ii) for protecting kept salamanders from Bsal, are: identification and treatment of positive collections; (iii) for on-site protection of wild salamanders, are: preventing translocation of wild amphibians and release/return to the wild of kept/temporarily housed wild salamanders, and setting up contact points/emergency teams for passive surveillance. Combining several risk-mitigation measures improve the overall effectiveness. It is recommended to: introduce a harmonised protocol for Bsal detection throughout the EU; improve data acquisition on salamander abundance and distribution; enhance passive surveillance activities; increase public and professionals' awareness; condition any movement of captive salamanders on Bsal known health status.

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“…Climate conditions suitable for Bsal modelled earlier in Feldmeier et al. () also support the possibility of further Bsal spread in Europe.…”

Section: Assessmentsupporting

confidence: 67%

Risk of survival, establishment and spread of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in the EU

Miranda²,

Bicout

et al. 2018

EFS2

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“…Second, the pathogen is unlikely to persist in the absence of an environmental reservoir or reservoir host. Third, because salamanders do not move much in a matter of months [25,35], it seems unlikely that infected individuals would move far enough to transmit the disease to nearby neighbouring forest patches with salamander demes where conditions are suitable for Bsal [25,26]. Our spatial model may therefore overestimate the spread of the pathogen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We added to every equation a (spatial) diffusion term D j (∂ 2 j /∂ x 2 ), where j = S, L or I . While we note that real landscapes are heterogeneous for both host and pathogen [25,26], we are lacking information on the diffusion ability of the different members of the population ( S, L, I ). Thus, we assumed D S = D L = D I = D .…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of host populations affected by the emerging fungal pathogenBatrachochytrium salamandrivorans

Schmidt

Bozzuto²,

Lötters

et al. 2017

R. Soc. open sci.

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Emerging infectious diseases cause extirpation of wildlife populations. We use an epidemiological model to explore the effects of a recently emerged disease caused by the salamander-killing chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) on host populations, and to evaluate which mitigation measures are most likely to succeed. As individuals do not recover from Bsal, we used a model with the states susceptible, latent and infectious, and parametrized the model using data on host and pathogen taken from the literature and expert opinion. The model suggested that disease outbreaks can occur at very low host densities (one female per hectare). This density is far lower than host densities in the wild. Therefore, all naturally occurring populations are at risk. Bsal can lead to the local extirpation of the host population within a few months. Disease outbreaks are likely to fade out quickly. A spatial variant of the model showed that the pathogen could potentially spread rapidly. As disease mitigation during outbreaks is unlikely to be successful, control efforts should focus on preventing disease emergence and transmission between populations. Thus, this emerging wildlife disease is best controlled through prevention rather than subsequent actions.

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“…The global spread of chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been linked to the extirpation or extinction of 200 species of frogs and toads (Rödder et al ., ). A second, recently discovered invasive chytrid ( B. salamandrivorans ) is expected to be similarly problematic for salamander species in Europe and North America (Feldmeier et al ., ). Collectively, these epizootics have significant community‐ and ecosystem‐level effects.…”

Section: Emerging Threatsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity

et al. 2018

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In the 12 years since Dudgeon et al. (2006) reviewed major pressures on freshwater ecosystems, the biodiversity crisis in the world's lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and wetlands has deepened. While lakes, reservoirs and rivers cover only 2.3% of the Earth's surface, these ecosystems host at least 9.5% of the Earth's described animal species. Furthermore, using the World Wide Fund for Nature's Living Planet Index, freshwater population declines (83% between 1970 and 2014) continue to outpace contemporaneous declines in marine or terrestrial systems. The Anthropocene has brought multiple new and varied threats that disproportionately impact freshwater systems. We document 12 emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity that are either entirely new since 2006 or have since intensified: (i) changing climates; (ii) e-commerce and invasions; (iii) infectious diseases; (iv) harmful algal blooms; (v) expanding hydropower; (vi) emerging contaminants; (vii) engineered nanomaterials; (viii) microplastic pollution; (ix) light and noise; (x) freshwater salinisation; (xi) declining calcium; and (xii) cumulative stressors. Effects are evidenced for amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, microbes, plants, turtles and waterbirds, with potential for ecosystem-level changes through bottom-up and top-down processes. In our highly uncertain future, the net effects of these threats raise serious concerns for freshwater ecosystems. However, we also highlight opportunities for conservation gains as a result of novel management tools (e.g. environmental flows, environmental DNA) and specific conservation-oriented actions (e.g. dam removal, habitat protection policies, managed relocation of species) that have been met with varying levels of success. Moving forward, we advocate hybrid approaches that manage fresh waters as crucial ecosystems for human life support as well as essential hotspots of biodiversity and ecological function. Efforts to reverse global trends in freshwater degradation now depend on bridging an immense gap between the aspirations of conservation biologists and the accelerating rate of species endangerment.

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Exploring the Distribution of the Spreading Lethal Salamander Chytrid Fungus in Its Invasive Range in Europe – A Macroecological Approach

Cited by 39 publications

References 74 publications

Risk of survival, establishment and spread of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in the EU

Risk of survival, establishment and spread of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in the EU

Dynamics of host populations affected by the emerging fungal pathogenBatrachochytrium salamandrivorans

Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity

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