Chytridiomycosis and Possible Frog Extinction
REOTUTAR, Prince-Stephen, T.
3BIO5
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF VERTEBRATES
For the past years, extinction is still the major concern of most scientists, a problem and phenomenon that encompass all living organisms here on Earth. But do we all know how extinction happens and what are its causes? Just like the topic shared by Mr. Vance Vredenberg concerning the unusual decline in frog’s population, extinction is really something anyone should be aware of. According to him, extinction of organisms may be caused by any of the following: habitat destruction, over exploitation of various organisms, emergence of invasive species taking over the underpowered species, the destructive potential of ultraviolet ray radiation, climate change, and the spread of various types of infectious diseases. In his talk, Mr. Vance Vredenberg reiterated that the unusual decline of frog’s population in California was due to a disease called chytridiomycosis in frogs caused by an unusual type of fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. This disease mainly target every kind of amphibian that would in turn cause the regression in population of the affected species, though some infected species were able to withstand and survive this disease calling for the involvement of natural selection. Additionaly, he also postulated that if the zoospore threshold or occurrence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis reached above 10,000, the infected species would likely have the higher chance of becoming extinct. But Mr. Vredenberg, together with his colleagues, found a way to counteract the massive impact of the disease to the amphibian population, in their case, the frogs. According to him, bioaugmentation would be the answer to this problem. Bioaugmentation of the skin microbiome may save the amphibian world because mutualistic bacteria play a role in fungal defense and resistance. Through bioaugmentation, the morbidity of frogs infected by the fungus would be prevented.
If I were to choose a
3BIO5
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF VERTEBRATES
For the past years, extinction is still the major concern of most scientists, a problem and phenomenon that encompass all living organisms here on Earth. But do we all know how extinction happens and what are its causes? Just like the topic shared by Mr. Vance Vredenberg concerning the unusual decline in frog’s population, extinction is really something anyone should be aware of. According to him, extinction of organisms may be caused by any of the following: habitat destruction, over exploitation of various organisms, emergence of invasive species taking over the underpowered species, the destructive potential of ultraviolet ray radiation, climate change, and the spread of various types of infectious diseases. In his talk, Mr. Vance Vredenberg reiterated that the unusual decline of frog’s population in California was due to a disease called chytridiomycosis in frogs caused by an unusual type of fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. This disease mainly target every kind of amphibian that would in turn cause the regression in population of the affected species, though some infected species were able to withstand and survive this disease calling for the involvement of natural selection. Additionaly, he also postulated that if the zoospore threshold or occurrence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis reached above 10,000, the infected species would likely have the higher chance of becoming extinct. But Mr. Vredenberg, together with his colleagues, found a way to counteract the massive impact of the disease to the amphibian population, in their case, the frogs. According to him, bioaugmentation would be the answer to this problem. Bioaugmentation of the skin microbiome may save the amphibian world because mutualistic bacteria play a role in fungal defense and resistance. Through bioaugmentation, the morbidity of frogs infected by the fungus would be prevented.
If I were to choose a