A new study published in Nature reveals how 'frog saunas' could be an easy-to-build and vital tool in tackling the impact of the chytrid disease on amphibians.
These saunas – technically described as ‘hotspot shelters’ in the scientific paper – provide a means for wild frogs to heat up and destroy the fungus.
Chytrid – the shortened name for chytridiomycosis – is a pathogenic fungal disease, caused by two fungi: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (usually shortened to Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal).
Where the fungi are thought to have originated from in Asia, amphibians have evolved to live alongside them. However, as the fungi have spread around the world, the disease has been fatal for many amphibians and a contributing factor to the extinction of 90 species.
One of the most notable species at risk is the mountain chicken frog, a Critically Endangered species – just 21 frogs were found in the wild during a recent survey on Dominica.
However, in this new research, scientists have been looking into how to take advantage – even in winter – of the fact that Bd is unable to survive high temperatures and that frogs will select areas with high temperatures. “For species in temperate areas, winter temperatures really make it tough for frogs to persist despite chytrid infection,” explains Anthony Waddle, lead author on the paper.
Using both laboratory and outdoor experiments, they created artificial shelters that they dubbed 'frog saunas', and found that the frogs preferred these hotspots to the other options available and that the chytrid infections were fought off.
“We tested the saunas in Sydney in green and golden bell frogs and they worked well here,” adds Waddle. “For other species and regions these shelters could work but they would likely need to be developed to cater to the unique needs of that system/species.”
Other tools for conservationists include controls on moving amphibians in the pet trade, captive breeding programs (including selective breeding) and vaccinations. For the mountain chicken frog, the semi-wild population is provided on Montserrat in the Caribbean with heated pools, using the same idea of helping frogs heat up and reduce the infection.
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