Baseline amphibian survey and sampling of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Icaco and Hormiga valleys, Patillas, Puerto Rico

Authors

  • Norman Greenhawk Tropic Ventures Research and Education Foundation
  • Sara Zlotnik Purdue University. Department of Biological Sciences
  • Lauren Margaret Billy Vanderbilt University
  • Sam Boas University of Maryland
  • Sara Gabel University of Maryland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v16i1p63-69

Keywords:

conservation, Eleutherodactylus cooki, Eleutherodactylus richmondi, Eleutherodactylus wightmanae, secondary-growth forests

Abstract

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the pathogen responsible for chytridiomycosis, a disease implicated in amphibian population declines around the world. In Puerto Rico, Bd has been shown to cause mortalities in endemic anurans of the genus Eleutherodactylus. In July 2014, we conducted visual-encounter surveys and collected 143 Bd swab samples at 10 locations in Icaco and Hormiga, two remote and understudied valleys in Patillas, Puerto Rico. We found five species of Eleutherodactylus and one species of Leptodactylus. Individuals of four species (E. coqui, E. cooki, E. richmondi, and E. wightmanae) yielded either positive or equivocal results for Bd, but 93.7% of the samples tested negative for Bd

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Published

2017-06-28

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

License

All material originally published in Phyllomedusa belongs to Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz - Universidade de São Paulo. All contents are under a license of Creative Commons BY-NC-ND.

How to Cite

Greenhawk, N., Zlotnik, S., Billy, L. M., Boas, S., & Gabel, S. (2017). Baseline amphibian survey and sampling of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Icaco and Hormiga valleys, Patillas, Puerto Rico. Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology, 16(1), 63-69. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v16i1p63-69