Good luck-Bad luck: The boredom filter
September 28, 2009
Everyone knows that frogs are in trouble and that some species have already disappeared, but a recent analysis of Central American frog surveys shows that the situation is worse than had previously been thought
Everyone knows that frogs are in trouble and that some species have already disappeared, but a recent analysis of Central American frog surveys shows that the situation is worse than had previously been thought
Under pressure from a fungal disease, the frogs in this biodiversity hot spot are undergoing "a vast homogenization" that is leaving behind impoverished communities that increasingly resemble one another. The analysis of data collected over many years by Karen R. Lips, STRI research associate, was published in the October issue of Ecology Letters (see New publications.)
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, a microscopic fungus that lives in water and moist soil, that sickens or kills frogs. Homogenization has also knocked out ecological diversity.
Prior to the invasion, there was a good mix of species in the region. Some species lived in streams, others on land, in trees and underground. But the primarily aquatic fungus has killed most of the water-loving species, like Pristimantis gaigei in the background photo. Now the frog communities are typified by terrestrial species.
The results of the analysis suggest that the slate of ecological history in these assemblages has been partially erased and that the communities that remain consist primarily of species that are resistant to the fungus.
An "extinction filter"? It preferentially removes the frogs that make each habitat unusual and interesting. “Maybe it should be called a boredom filter instead” concludes Kevin G. Smith, associate director of the Tyson Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis and lead author of the article.
Photo caption
Agalychnis calidrya, the red-eyed tree frog, one of the winners of the fungal lottery. It became more abundant as other species disappeared.
Story: EurekAlert!
Edited by M Alvarado and ML Calderon
Photos: MA Guerra
Inset: Karen Lips' Web page.
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