How do emerging infectious diseases affect amphibian diversity? Currently: The salamander-eating fungus in Western Europe
Emerging infectious diseases are one of the main threats to global biodiversity. Amphibians, a group severely declining at the global scale, suffer from spreading fungal diseases. Some years ago, a new amphibian skin fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, was discovered in W Europe. It is deadly to many salamander and newt species (not to frogs and toads), and our native amphibian fauna is at high risk. We study how the new fungus, which might have originated from Asia (where immune species have been found), spreads and how it affects wild populations in Germany.
PI: Stefan Lötters, Norman Wagner, Michael Veith
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