Global Amphibian Extinction Risk Assessment for the Panzootic Chytrid Fungus

Diversity

Dennis R󶷞r¹  Jos Kielgast¹  Jon Bielby⁵  Sebastian Schmidtlein³  Jaime Bosch⁴  Trenton W.J. Garner⁵  Michael Veith¹  Susan Walker²  Matthew C. Fisher² 

[1] Department of Biogeography, Trier University, Am Wissenschaftspark 25-27, D-54296 Trier, Germany; E-Mails:;Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK; E-Mails:;Department of Geography, Bonn University, Meckenheimer Allee 166, D-53115 Bonn, Germany; E-Mail:;Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Calle José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain; E-Mail:;Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK; E-Mails:

关键词: amphibians;    Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis;    chytridiomycosis;    Maxent;    Species Distribution Model;   

DOI  :  10.3390/d1010052

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Species are being lost at increasing rates due to anthropogenic effects, leading to the recognition that we are witnessing the onset of a sixth mass extinction. Emerging infectious disease has been shown to increase species loss and any attempts to reduce extinction rates need to squarely confront this challenge. Here, we develop a procedure for identifying amphibian species that are most at risk from the effects of chytridiomycosis by combining spatial analyses of key host life-history variables with the pathogen's predicted distribution. We apply our rule set to the known global diversity of amphibians in order to prioritize species that are most at risk of loss from disease emergence. This risk assessment shows where limited conservation funds are best deployed in order to prevent further loss of species by enabling ex situ amphibian salvage operations and focusing any potential disease mitigation projects.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.