Social Behavior, Community Composition, Pathogen Strain, and Host Symbionts Influence Fungal Disease Dynamics in Salamanders.

The emerging fungal pathogen, (), which can cause a fatal disease called chytridiomycosis, is implicated in the collapse of hundreds of host amphibian species. We describe chytridiomycosis dynamics in two co-occurring terrestrial salamander species, the Santa Lucia Mountains slender salamander, , and the arboreal salamander, . We (1) conduct a retrospective -infection survey of specimens collected over the last century, (2) estimate present-day infections in wild populations, (3) use generalized linear models (GLM) to identify biotic and abiotic correlates of infection risk, (4) investigate susceptibility of hosts exposed to in laboratory trials, and (5) examine the ability of host skin bacteria to inhibit in culture.