# Chytrid in Africa



## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Chytrid in Africa


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## jkooiman (May 2, 2010)

I'm curious how many species have been FATALLY infected in Africa? JVK


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## Jeff (May 21, 2009)

jkooiman said:


> I'm curious how many species have been FATALLY infected in Africa? JVK


I'm not especially well-read on the African cases, but _Nectophrynoides asperginis_ seems like an obvious example. 

Going of on a tangent: even if you agree with the hypothesis that a pipid from west-central Africa was the type host for _Bd_ (I'm thinking of Soto-Azat et al 2009), then it shouldn't be too surprising if a number of African taxa are adversely affected by chytridiomycosis, especially if thie affected taxa have been isolated from _Bd_-carrying pipids for a long time.

Speculation alert: I don't actually know if this is the case for _N. asperginis_.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

jkooiman said:


> I'm curious how many species have been FATALLY infected in Africa? JVK


Part of the problem is that funding to look for mortality events in Africa has been very poor so there wasn't a lot of field research. This article discusses why we may not be seeing the huge mortality reports seen elsewhere 
http://www.amphibianark.org/Kevin/reports/CongoChytrid.pdf 

However see also 
http://www.biology.mcmaster.ca/facu...b/Publications_files/Blackburn_et_al_2010.pdf

Patterns of amphibian chytrid prevalence and mortality in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa and Lesotho


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## Jeff (May 21, 2009)

Ed said:


> Part of the problem is that funding to look for mortality events in Africa has been very poor so there wasn't a lot of field research.


Another issue is that even in the United States, where funding levels are high and amphibian populations tend to be well-studied, there remains difficulty in understanding the links between _Bd_ infections, morbidity/mortality events, and population declines.

This can only be magnified by the lack of data on African taxa.


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