Amphibian Survival Alliance and partners lead strategic efforts to prevent
spread of deadly salamander disease in North America
New publication outlines swift and coordinated action in the conservation community
Embargoed until Dec. 10, 2015, at 11 a.m. (PST)
An emerging fungal pathogen that has caused recent die-offs of salamanders in
Europe, faces a formidable foe in North America: the Amphibian Survival Alliance
and its partners, who today published a paper outlining the conservation
community’s proactive efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of the disease
in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“We are more encouraged by this response than any previous response to an
amphibian emergency,” said James Lewis, ASA’s director of operations. “What we
have seen here is an amazingly strong collaboration and open response from all
stakeholders. We not only have the science community talking, but we also have the
pet industry, private pet owners, policymakers, animal welfare advocates and the
conservation community putting aside differences and coming together.”
It has been one year since scientists in Europe broke the news of their alarming
discovery of the pathogen, Batrachocytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), which is similar
to a fungal pathogen that has devastated populations of frogs in the neotropics,
Australia and the western United States. The story published today in PLOS
Pathogens summarizes the swift action the conservation community has already
taken to prevent the spread of Bsal in North America and lays out plans to respond
swiftly if it does arrive. Some actions have included:
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Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) forming a National
Disease Task Team to facilitate the development of a strategic plan for Bsal;
The U.S. Geological Survey and PARC holding workshops on Bsal;
The creation of a Bsal National Task Force that can address all facets of Bsal
preparedness, response, research and management;
Creation of a website and LISTSERV (bsal@lists.berkeley.edu) to disseminate
information on Bsal;
The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) working via the Bsal
National Task Force Response to develop a customizable Bsal rapid response
plan template for both wild and captive salamanders;
AFWA and ASA working together to draft improved policies for wildlife
disease management, using Bsal as an example.
Conservation organizations have also been calling for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) to put into place rules that would aid in preventing the fungal
pathogen from reaching North America, but so far USFWS hasn’t taken such action.
“What we really need is to keep Bsal out of North America as long as possible,
allowing us time to better understand this pathogen and how to address it,”
said Priya Nanjappa, amphibian and reptile conservation policy lead for the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “Unfortunately the policy tools are just not
in place for swift action, even when urgency is required.”
“North America’s diversity of salamander species truly makes this region of the
natural world special,” said Matthew Gray, professor of wildlife ecology at the
University of Tennessee. “Salamanders provide society numerous benefits including
use as educational tools, in carbon cycling, and even in shedding light on biomedical
procedures.”
“Fifty percent of the 682 salamander species are only found in North America, and in
some cases, although they may be cryptic and difficult to find, they make up a
signiicant proportion of the biomass in forests” said Phil Bishop, Professor of Zoology
at the University of Otago and Chief Scientist for the Amphibian Survival Alliance.” In
particular, Mexico and the Appalachian Mountains are collectively home to more
than 100 species of lungless salamanders, which could be wiped out by this
emerging disease”.
The paper’s authors are: Matthew Gray, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; James
Lewis, Amphibian Survival Alliance; Priya Nanjappa, Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies; Blake Klocke, George Mason University; Frank Pasmans and An Martel,
Ghent Univeristy; Craig Stephen, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative; Gabriela
Parra Olea, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (currently on sabbatical at
the University of Otago, New Zealand); Scott A. Smith, Maryland Department of
Natural Resources; Allison Sacerdote-Velat, Lincoln Park Zoo; Michelle Christman,
U.S. Fish and Widlife Service; Jennifer Williams, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile
Conservation; Deanna Olson, U.S. Forest Service.
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Photo: Ensatina salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii) (Photo by Clay Bolt, National
Geographic Society)
Please use this URL to provide readers access to the paper (Link goes live upon article
publication):
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005251
Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA)
The Amphibian Survival Alliance is the world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation, formed
in response to the decline of frogs, salamanders and caecilians worldwide. Without immediate and
coordinated action we stand to lose half of some 7,000 species of amphibians in our lifetimes. The
ASA draws on cutting-edge research to protect amphibians and key habitats worldwide, in addition to
educating and inspiring the global community to become a part of the amphibian conservation
movement. www.amphibians.org
Contact Professor Phil Bishop (phil.bishop@otago.ac.nz) or Candace Hansen-Hendrikx at
cmhansen@amphibians.org for additional information.