A new study, published in Science, is the first comprehensive tally of the damage done by the chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). In all, the fungi have driven the declines of at least 501 amphibian species, or about one out of every 16 known to science.
Source: National Geographic, March 28, 2019. Link. Calling for curtailing the global trade of wild amphibians, researchers say that we can’t reverse the damage that Bd has already done. The fungus is already worldwide, and purging it from the environment is impossible.
In some respects, it’s the perfect pandemic recipe,” says biologist Dan Greenberg. “If it were a human pathogen, it’d be in a zombie film.”
INSIGHTS: Research like this helps us comprehend how insidious pathogens can cause damage to species.