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Effects of amphibian chytrid fungus exposure on American toads in the presence of an insecticide
Author(s) -
Wise Rayona S.,
Rumschlag Samantha L.,
Boone Michelle D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.2709
Subject(s) - amphibian , fungus , biology , chytridiomycosis , chytridiomycota , zoospore , zoology , ecology , toxicology , botany , ascomycota , spore , biochemistry , gene
Abiotic factors such as pesticides may alter the impact of a pathogen on hosts, which could have implications for host–pathogen interactions and may explain variation in disease outbreaks in nature. In the present laboratory experiment, American toad ( Anaxyrus americanus ) metamorphs were exposed to the amphibian chytrid fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) and environmentally relevant concentrations of the insecticide malathion to determine whether malathion altered the effects of Bd exposure on growth and survival of toad metamorphs. Exposure to Bd significantly decreased survival over the 51 d of the experiment, suggesting that Bd could reduce recruitment into the terrestrial life stage when exposure occurs at metamorphosis. Malathion did not impact survival, but a 12‐h exposure at metamorphosis significantly reduced terrestrial growth. Toads that were exposed to both Bd and malathion showed a nonsignificant trend toward the smallest growth compared with other treatments. The present study suggests that Bd may pose a threat to American toads even though population declines have not been observed for this species; in addition, the presence of both the insecticide malathion and Bd could reduce terrestrial growth, which could have implications for lifetime fitness and suggests that environmental factors could play a role in pathogen impacts in nature. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:2541–2544 . © 2014 SETAC