The Zoological Society of London has today announced the incredibly exciting news that they have suc
The Zoological Society of London has today announced the incredibly exciting news that they have successfully eliminated the lethal chytrid fungus from a wild amphibian population for the first time. Tadpoles of the Mallorcan midwife toad (Alytes muletensis), a fascinating and unique species that until a few decades ago was believed to be extinct, were collected from all infected ponds on the island and kept in a laboratory for a week. Whilst there, they were bathed daily in a treatment solution containing an antifungal known as itraconazole, before being returned to the wild. In the meantime, the environment surrounding each pond was sprayed liberally with a chemical disinfectant, including gravel, rocks and plants where the toads would spend time after they metamorphosed and left the water. Early results show that the combined treatment of both tadpoles and environment successfully eliminated chytridiomycosis from local populations, and that the effects can carry over to tadpoles in subsequent years without the need for repeat treatments. Using these methods, researchers are coming close to eradicating chytrid fungus from the entire island of Mallorca and therefore eliminating the lethal threat it poses to this extraordinary amphibian.Ref: Bosch J. et al., 2015. Successful elimination of a lethal wildlife infectious disease in nature. Biology Letters 11: 20150874 [link] -- source link
#science#zoology#biology#amphibian#midwife toad#mallorca#chytrid#fungus#chytridiomycosis#disease#wildlife#conservation#wildlife conservation#animals