Emerging infectious diseases have caused many species declines, changes in communities and even extinctions. There are also many species that persist following devastating declines due to disease. The broad mechanisms that enable host persistence following declines include evolution of resistance or tolerance, changes in immunity and behaviour, compensatory recruitment, pathogen attenuation, environmental refugia, density-dependent transmission and changes in community composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
October 2019
Biodiversity loss is one major outcome of human-mediated ecosystem disturbance. One way that humans have triggered wildlife declines is by transporting disease-causing agents to remote areas of the world. Amphibians have been hit particularly hard by disease due in part to a globally distributed pathogenic chytrid fungus ( []).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn animals and plants, symbiotic bacteria can play an important role in disease resistance of host and are the focus of much current research. Globally, amphibian population declines and extinctions have occurred due to chytridiomycosis, a skin disease caused by the pathogen (Bd). Currently amphibian skin bacteria are increasingly recognized as important symbiont communities with a relevant role in the defense against pathogens, as some bacteria can inhibit the growth of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMexico, a rich country in terms of amphibian diversity, hosts about 375 described species. Population declines have been documented for several species where it is evident that their habitat is being destroyed or modified. However, other species which inhabit pristine areas are declining as well.
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