Predicting the future distribution of Bd under climate change

Data from bd-maps.net was used to predict the global future distribution of Bd. The paper was published in PLoS ONE and is freely available. A key model prediction is "a broad expansion of areas environmentally suitable for establishment of Bd on amphibian hosts in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere."



The figure shows the predicted change in the distribution of (figure taken from the paper).

Chytrid in crayfish?

A paper published in the journal Aquaculture claims that Bd was detected in farmed crayfish and that Bd causes mortality, pandemics and massive economic losses to aquaculture. The abstract of the paper can be found here. Unfortunately, there are several problems with the study. For example, infections do not look like typical Bd infection. While there are some papers on Bd in crayfish (here), the new paper provides no strong new evidence for Bd in crayfish.



Picture from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobrachium_rosenbergii.

Chytrid responsible for one of fastest species declines ever recorded

"Scientists battling to fight a lethal amphibian disease on two islands in Caribbean have witnessed what is believed to be one of the fastest range-wide declines ever recorded for any animal – pushing a critically endangered frog species towards the verge of extinction."

Read more on the website of the Zoological Society of London:
https://www.zsl.org/science/news/chytrid-responsible-for-one-of-fastest-species-declines-ever-recorded

Read the full paper here (open access):
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep30772

Mountain chicken (c) ZSL