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https://www.sciencealert.com/the-frogs-vanished-then-people-got-sick-this-was-no-harmless-coincidence>
"Since the global pandemic began in 2020, the world has become ever more aware
that the health of our species is closely intertwined with other animals.
Today, the conversation is mostly focused on birds and mammals, with amphibians
rarely considered – but that may be a dangerous oversight.
A newly published study on frogs and malaria illustrates how intimately human
health may be impacted by these lovable – if somewhat slimy – creatures.
In the 1980s, ecologists in Costa Rica and Panama began to notice a quiet and
dramatic decline in amphibian numbers.
Frogs and salamanders in this part of the world were falling prey to a virulent
fungal pathogen (
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), and they were doing so at
such a rapid rate that researchers at the time feared a wave of local
extinctions.
Some scientists now argue this pathogen, called Bd for short, has caused "the
greatest recorded loss of biodiversity attributable to a disease" ever, being
responsible for significant declines in at least 501 amphibian species,
including 90 extinctions, from Asia to South America.
That's obviously a massive claim, but amphibians are now considered among the
most threatened groups of animals on Earth, and the worldwide spread of this
fungus and others like it are at least partly to blame.
Frogs and salamanders directly influence mosquito population sizes because
mosquitoes are a key source of food, which means the numbers of amphibians
could ultimately influence the vectors – living organisms that can transmit
infectious pathogens – that spread deadly human diseases.
Using Central America as a case study, researchers have now tried to illustrate
how creatures like frogs may ultimately benefit human health."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
