Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Archive

Vol. 4(1):17-21.

DOI: 10.1514/journal.arc.0040017 (7300KB PDF)

Copyright: © 2006 Toledo et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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A Brazilian anuran (Hylodes magalhaesi: Leptodactylidae) infected by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: a conservation concern.

L. F. TOLEDO1,5, C. F. B. HADDAD1, A. C. O. Q. CARNAVAL2,3, AND F. B. BRITTO4

1Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Unesp, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Caixa Postal 199, CEP 13506-970, BRAZIL 2The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60605, USA 3Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Valley Life Science Building, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA 4Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Unesp, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Caixa Postal 199, CEP 13506-970, BRAZIL

Abstract.—Several studies have associated the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis with anuran population declines worldwide. To date, the fungus has been found in Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Europe. However, it has never been reported to occur in the Atlantic forest or Brazil. Based on morphological, histological, and molecular data, we encountered evidence of B. dendrobatidis infection in a high-altitude stream-dwelling Brazilian anuran species, Hylodes magalhaesi (Leptodactylidae). One population (Municipality of Camanducaia, State of Minas Gerais) was surveyed from 2001 to 2005. Tadpoles lacking teeth were observed and collected in 2004. Histological and molecular analyses identified infection by B. dendrobatidis. Although infected tadpoles seem nowadays to co-exist with the disease, our results are alarming due to the highly endangered situation of the Brazilian Atlantic forest and its fauna. Effects of the chytrid infection on the studied population are still unknown. Further investigations are needed to provide information on its distribution in relation to other populations of H. magalhaesi.

Key words. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Hylodes, anuran decline, conservation, Atlantic forest, Brazil

Citation: Toledo, L. F., Haddad, C. F. B., Carnaval, A. C. O. Q., and Britto, F. B. 2006. A Brazilian anuran (Hylodes magalhaesi: Leptodactylidae) infected by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: a conservation concern. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 4(1):17-21(e17).