Everyone's favourite fungus is the topic of this week’s episode – Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, otherwise known as Bd or Chytrid. We discuss some of the ways it spreads and a little about the frogs it affects. Species of the Bi-week is back and this time coming out of Amazonia. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com

Main Paper References:
Kolby, Jonathan E., Sara D. Ramirez, Lee Berger, Kathryn L. Richards-Hrdlicka, Merlijn Jocque, and Lee F. Skerratt. 2015. “Terrestrial Dispersal and Potential Environmental Transmission of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis).” PLoS ONE 10 (4): 1–13.
Barrio-Amorós, César L., Christoph I. Grünwald, Héctor Franz-Chávez, Ángela María Mendoza, and Brandon Thomas La Forest. 2016. “Notes on Natural History and Call Description of the Critically Endangered Plectrohyla Avia (Anura: Hylidae) from Chiapas , Mexico.” Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 10 (2): 11–17.
Species of the Bi-Week:
Peloso, Pedro L.V., Victor G.D. Orrico, Célio F.B. Haddad, Geraldo R. Lima-Filho, and Marcelo J. Sturaro. 2016. “A New Species of Clown Tree Frog, Dendropsophus Leucophyllatus Species Group, from Amazonia (Anura, Hylidae).” South American Journal of Herpetology 11 (1): 66–80.
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Arnold, S.J., 1976. "Sexual behavior, sexual interference and sexual defense in the salamanders Ambystoma maculatum, Ambystoma tigrinum and Plethodon jordani." Ethology, 42(3): 247-300.
Blooi, Mark, An Martel, Francis Vercammen, and Frank Pasmans. 2013. “Combining Ethidium Monoazide Treatment with Real-Time PCR Selectively Quantifies Viable Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Cells.” Fungal Biology 117 (2): 156–62.
Gower, D.J., Doherty-Bone, T., Loader, S.P., Wilkinson, M., Kouete, M.T., Tapley, B., Orton, F., Daniel, O.Z., Wynne, F., Flach, E. and Müller, H., 2013. "Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection and lethal chytridiomycosis in caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona)." EcoHealth, 10(2):173-183.
Iwai, N., 2013. "Morphology, function and evolution of the pseudothumb in the Otton frog." Journal of Zoology, 289(2): 127-133.
Kolby, Jonathan E., Sara D. Ramirez, Lee Berger, Dale W. Griffin, Merlijn Jocque, and Lee F. Skerratt. 2015. “Presence of Amphibian Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis) in Rainwater Suggests Aerial Dispersal Is Possible.” Aerobiologia 31 (3): 411–19. doi:10.1007/s10453-015-9374-6.
Liew, Nicole, Maria J. Mazon Moya, Claudia J. Wierzbicki, Michael Hollinshead, Michael J. Dillon, Christopher R. Thornton, Amy Ellison, Jo Cable, Matthew C. Fisher, and Serge Mostowy. 2017. “Chytrid Fungus Infection in Zebrafish Demonstrates That the Pathogen Can Parasitize Non-Amphibian Vertebrate Hosts.” Nature Communications 8 (April). Nature Publishing Group: 15048.
Lips, Karen R. 2016. “Overview of Chytrid Emergence and Impacts on Amphibians.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 371 (1709): 20150465.
Longcore, J.E., Pessier, A.P. and Nichols, D.K., 1999. "Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis gen. et sp. nov., a chytrid pathogenic to amphibians." Mycologia: 219-227.
Olson, Deanna H., David M. Aanensen, Kathryn L. Ronnenberg, Christopher I. Powell, Susan F. Walker, Jon Bielby, Trenton W.J. Garner, George Weaver, and Matthew C. Fisher. 2013. “Mapping the Global Emergence of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis, the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus.” PLoS ONE 8 (2).
Van Rooij, Pascale, Frank Pasmans, Yanaika Coen, and An Martel. 2017. “Efficacy of Chemical Disinfectants for the Containment of the Salamander Chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans.” PloS One 12 (10): e0186269.
Other Links/Mentions:
Video of Plectrohyla Avia from Barrio-Amorós et al. (2016) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2O-BguqOY&feature=youtu.be
Salamander courtship with pheromone transmission - http://plethodon.science.oregonstate.edu/video/shermani%20slapping.avi
HARCC are mid fundraiser - go to frogrescue.com
Music – Treehouse by Ed Nelson