When we think of nature it's often the buzz of bees, a magnificent kite on a thermal, or the cheeky possum that raids the garbage. Yet there's so much more to nature than the things we can see.
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One important and microscopic fungus lives on the skin of amphibians like frogs and salamanders. In Australia, the amphibian chytrid fungus began to cause declines and extinction of frogs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It's basically athlete's foot for frogs, except it can kill them.
The yellow-spotted tree frog of the New England Tablelands disappeared. Corroboree frog populations crashed. We think seven frog species in Australia are extinct from the fungus and over 40 species have declined.
Interestingly, some species of frogs appear unaffected by the fungus, or at least able to tolerate it. The broad range of different frog species that host the fungus allow it to continue living in Australia today. There is no known way to eliminate it from a large area once it has invaded.
When frogs first started declining, scientists had no idea why. It took a long time before they had described the fungal species, which was new to science. Now, they can detect it with genetic identification by simply swabbing frog skin and looking for its DNA in the lab.
After years of studying frogs and the fungus, we know it is more deadly in cool areas. Many frog species have declined at the top of mountains but continue to survive in warmer, lower elevations. Stream frogs and species that spend more time in water are more likely to succumb to infection.
Many frog species have declined at the top of mountains but continue to survive in warmer, lower elevations.
It is not just Australia that has suffered, frogs in Central and South America experienced rapid declines from the amphibian chytrid fungus. Recent research suggests that the fungus originates from Korea, where frogs are largely tolerant.
The fungus has emerged through much of the globe including Europe and Borneo. Yet the world's largest tropical island - New Guinea - may still be free from the fungus. If the fungus does arrive, the close family relationships of frogs in New Guinea suggest that they could suffer declines of up to 100 species. For once there is an opportunity to prepare for this threat and conserve the frogs.
The tools now exist to store frog sperm in order to protect genetic diversity, captive breed different species, and monitor their disease in wild populations. With collaborative efforts and two decades of scientific research, we can now stop this little bit of run-away nature from doing damage in one of the last refuges on Earth.
