We can help frogs beat a deadly disease. But can they still reproduce?
Many people are blissfully unaware that the world's frogs and amphibians are fighting their own deadly pandemic. In fact, this fungal disease—chytridiomycosis, or chytrid for short—is the worst wildlife disease on record.
Chytridiomycosis, or chytrid, is the most significant wildlife disease ever recorded, having caused the extinction of 90 amphibian species and affecting 30% of all threatened amphibians. To combat this disease, scientists have developed novel methods such as frog saunas and captive breeding programs. However, our new research indicates these interventions may come at a cost to frog reproduction.
In a study focusing on green and golden bell frogs, infected frogs produced higher sperm concentrations than uninfected ones, possibly due to a "terminal investment" response - increasing reproductive effort to ensure gene survival. However, severe infections impaired sperm motility, while heat treatment reduced sperm concentration for months after clearing the infection. While heat treatment effectively eliminated the disease, it reduced sperm numbers, possibly unseen if survival is the sole success indicator.
Thus, conservation programs should monitor not just disease status but also reproductive health to prevent long-term effects on population growth.
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