Mathematical Biology Seminar

Cheryl Briggs University of California, Berkeley
Wednesday Feb. 28, 2007
12:00m in ASB 210
Investigating the Population-Level Consequences of Chytridiomycosis, an Emerging Infectious Disease of Amphibians

Abstract: Chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been reported recently in amphibian populations throughout the world, and has been associated with many cases of population declines and extinctions. In some areas of the Sierra Nevada of California the disease appears to be the causal factor in the rapid extinction of local populations of the mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa, within a few years of the first detection of the fungus. In other areas, however, R. muscosa populations appear to persist for many years, despite high levels of infection in tadpoles. I will present the results of field surveys, experiments, and models at the population and landscape scales to attempt to understand the different population-level outcomes of this disease.