Amphibian and Reptile Biology

Amphibians—frogs, salamanders, and caecilians—are disappearing faster than almost any other vertebrate group, driven by a combination of habitat loss, climate shifts, and infectious disease, most notably the fungal pathogen *Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis*, which causes the skin disease chytridiomycosis and has contributed to the collapse or extinction of hundreds of species worldwide. Researchers working at the intersection of ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology use tools like phylogenetic analysis and population modeling to understand why some lineages are catastrophically vulnerable while others persist, and how these drivers interact rather than act in isolation. A central open question is whether surviving populations are evolving resistance to chytrid fungi fast enough to matter, and how projected climate trajectories will reshape the geographic range of both host species and their pathogens. Conservation efforts increasingly depend on answering these questions with enough precision to prioritize which habitats to protect and which species are realistic candidates for assisted recovery.

Works

277,007

Total citations

1,469,227

Keywords

Amphibian DeclinesChytridiomycosisClimate ChangeBiodiversity LossPathogen ImpactHabitat Fragmentation