News just in from Imperial College London suggests that climate change in Europe is worsening the impact of a deadly disease which is wiping out vast numbers of amphibians. IC’s Matthew Fisher and colleagues working with colleagues in Madrid have found a correlation between significant warming of the local climate in Spain between 1976 and 2002 and the emergence of the fungal disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BD) in the area and its effects on midwife toads.
The fungus infects amphibians’ skin and is believed to cause disease by interfering with the skin’s ability to absorb water. As a result of BD, the common midwife toad is now virtually extinct in the area of Spain studied by the researchers, the Penalara Natural Park, where it once thrived.
The researchers believe various factors are at play in increasing the impact of BD on toad mortality. Amphibians are cold-blooded, so their body temperature is linked to the surrounding environment, for instance. meaning that changes in external temperature may affect their bodies’ ability to ward off disease. BD is also thought to be better suited to a warmer climate.
More details can be found in today’s issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.