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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: J. Patrick W. Cusaac, E. Davis Carter – Center for Wildlife Health, University of Tennessee; Douglas C. Woodhams, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts; Angie Peace, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Texas Tech University; Louise Rollins-Smith, Laura Reinert – Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Lori A. Williams, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Agency; Bill Reeves, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; Priya Nanjappa, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; Corinne Richards-Zawacki, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh; Debra L. Miller, Center for Wildlife Health and College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee; Matthew J. Gray, Center for Wildlife Health, University of Tennessee
ABSTRACT: The recently discovered fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) has caused population declines of wild fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) in Europe, and experimental challenges show that Bsal is highly pathogenic to species in the family Salamandridae. In particular, the Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is highly susceptible to Bsal. There are two other species of Notophthalmus native to North America (the Black-spotted Newt, N. perstriatus, and the Striped Newt, N. meridionalis), both of which are of high conservation concern. It is unclear whether these species are also susceptible to Bsal, and understanding the susceptibility of these species to Bsal is essential to estimating risk of Bsal emergence and planning conservation strategies for these species. Thus, our goal was to robustly estimate the susceptibility of species in the genus Notophthalmus to Bsal. We hypothesized that N. viridescens, N. perstriatus, and N. meridionalis will experience dose dependent mortality from exposure to Bsal. We conducted experimental challenges with the fungus by exposing individuals of each species to Bsal in a water bath at one of four zoospore concentrations (5x103-6) or to a water only control for 24h, then monitored their condition for 6wks. Clinical signs of disease varied by dose, the most common of which were skin sloughing and ulcerative lesions, and in some cases death. Indeed, all species experienced dose dependent mortality, with 100% mortality observed in the highest zoospore dose. These results demonstrate that Bsal is a significant conservation risk to amphibian biodiversity in North America.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 4:40pm - 5:00pm EDT
Carroll Ford