The chytrid fungal disease has been decimating frog populations worldwide for decades, and research progress has been slow. A new method for detecting the disease could help change its course.
California red-legged frogs are threatened with extinction.
KQED QUEST/Flickr
Amphibians have been devastated by a chytrid fungus pandemic. Researchers immunized California red-legged frogs in Yosemite to give them a fighting chance at survival, with surprising results.
Papua New Guinea frog Xenorhina macrodisca.
Stephen Richards
Populations of Fleay’s barred frog in Australia’s ancient rainforests were decimated by the chytrid fungus. Now, the frogs have developed a natural resistance.
A dead Peron’s tree frog (Litoria peronii)
Ken Griffiths
We’ve identified three frog species very likely to already be extinct. Another four species on our list are still surviving, but not likely to make it to 2040 without help.
It’s typically rare to see a dead frog. Yet, we’ve received a flurry of emails from people coming across them in this truly unusual, and tragic, mass death event.
The red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) is a species endemic to the United States.
Betty4240/iStock via Getty Images
The Bsal fungus is not yet here in North America, or any place in the Western Hemisphere, but there is concern that the pet trade is the most likely route for introduction here.
The horned land frog (Sphenophryne cornuta) carries babies on its back. New Guinea must be protected from the deadly chytrid fungus, or we could see around 100 frog species be wiped out.
The island of New Guinea is home to 6% of the world’s frogs, but if the deadly chytrid fungus invades it could cause a mass extinction.
The Mossy Red-eyed Frog is among hundreds of species threatened with extinction at the hands of chytrid fungus.
Jonathan Kolby/Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center
Chytrid fungus has caused declines in 501 amphibian species, according to a new analysis. Most of the damage happened in the 1980s, before the fungus itself was even discovered.
Scientists are raising Miami blue butterflies in captivity and reintroducing them in south Florida.
Jeff Gage/Florida Museum of Natural History
How do you pack butterflies for shipping, or frogs for an overland hike to a new habitat? Three scientists explain how they keep threatened species safe on the road and in the air.
Some tropical frogs may be developing resistance to a fungus that has devastated species like Atelopus varius, the variable harlequin frog.
Brian Gratwicke/Wikimedia
Chytrid fungus has caused a global “amphibian apocalypse,” killing frogs worldwide. Now some appear to be evolving resistance – but a closely related fungus threatens newts and salamanders.
A male boreal toad waits for opportunities to mate near a Colorado mountain lake.
Brittany Mosher
Frogs and toads are declining around the world, with many species on the brink of extinction. Acting in time means trying strategies without complete information about how likely they are to work.
The Northern Corroboree frog is among seven species at grave risk from fungal disease.
Michael McFadden
Chytrid fungus has already wiped out six species of Australian frogs since the disease arrived in the 1970s. Without urgent action, seven more are facing extinction.
Frog chytrid may have been spread by humans. It is a fungus that has decimated amphibian species.
Reuters
South-west of the port of Gladstone in Queensland lies Kroombit Tops National Park, housing many plants and animals, some of them unique. The reserve includes steep escarpments with wet, rainforest gullies…