PITTSBURGH: New research suggests that amphibians — already the most threatened vertebrate group in the world — are even more likely to contract a disease because of stress.
Researchers found that frogs, salamanders and their kin, which are seen as indicators of environmental conditions, are experiencing extreme population declines linked to an often-deadly fungal infection from Bactrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The recent findings bring bad news for amphibians — and any fan of biodiversity — and challenge humans to find ways to lower their stress levels.
The research supports the hypothesis that environmental stressors increase salamanders’ susceptibility to infection, based on chronic exposure to corticosterone, a stress hormone…