Dozens Of Frog Dieoffs - 1,000s Dying Per Incident - Have Australian Scientists Baffled

[hatrack]

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It started last winter, when Rowley, a herpetologist, noticed increased social media reports of frog carcasses in backyards and local creeks. She was concerned, but knew that amphibians’ immune systems slow down in the cold — and it was a cold year. But a call-out for citizen data brought in a flood of dead-frog sightings far beyond normal winter losses. Frogs, which usually bunker down during cooler weather — the middle of the year in Australia — were apparently wandering out into the open, sitting down, and dying en masse.

“Property holders were saying that they’ve never seen this, but there’s dozens of dead frogs all over their house,” said Rowley, the herpetology department lead at the Australian Museum and University of New South Wales. More than 1,600 reports came in, covering more than 40 species around the country, many detailing multiple deaths. After a summer reprieve, the phenomenon seems to be back this winter. “I was bracing myself for the possibility it would happen again,” Rowley said. “And unfortunately, it does look like it.”

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Chytrid fungus — batrachochytrium dendrobatidis — has ripped through amphibian populations since the latter part of last century. Scientists believe it originated on the Korean Peninsula and spread worldwide through trade. The fungus, which feeds on the keratin in frogs’ outer layer, threatens the survival of more than 500 types of amphibian, a 2019 study found. It is thought to be responsible for 90 extinctions since the 1970s, making it a more destructive invasive species than rats or cats.

Rowley and Rose say the fungus is probably playing a role in the inexplicable die-off. But they doubt it’s the whole story. The fungus has been present in Australia for decades, Rose said. And some autopsies revealed internal lesions on the frogs’ nervous systems and hearts, which is not a usual symptom of fungal infection. Something in the environment must have changed. “There's been good evidence of widespread chytrid fungus infection since about the mid-1980s. So why are we seeing such a high mortality now?” she said.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/22/australia-dead-frogs-environment-climate-change/

[cilla4progress]

1. Baffled?

Seriously?!