Abstract

Climate change has led to an alarming increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires worldwide. While it is known that amphibians have physiological characteristics that make them highly susceptible to fire, the specific impacts of wildfires on their symbiotic skin bacterial communities (i.e., bacteriomes) and infection by the deadly chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, remain poorly understood. Here, we address this research gap by evaluating the effects of fire on the amphibian skin bacteriome and the subsequent risk of chytridiomycosis. We sampled the skin bacteriome of the Neotropical species Scinax squalirostris and Boana leptolineata in fire and control plots before and after experimental burnings. Fire was linked with a marked increase in bacteriome beta dispersion, a proxy for skin microbial dysbiosis, alongside a trend of increased pathogen loads. By shedding light on the effects of fire on amphibian skin bacteriomes, this study contributes to our broader understanding of the impacts of wildfires on vulnerable vertebrate species.

Details

Title
Effects of grassland controlled burning on symbiotic skin microbes in Neotropical amphibians
Author
Schuck, Laura K. 1 ; Neely, Wesley J. 2 ; Buttimer, Shannon M. 3 ; Moser, Camila F. 4 ; Barth, Priscila C. 5 ; Liskoski, Paulo E. 5 ; Caberlon, Carolina de A. 5 ; Valiati, Victor Hugo 5 ; Tozetti, Alexandro M. 5 ; Becker, C. Guilherme 3 

 Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, São Leopoldo, Brazil (GRID:grid.412302.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 1882 7290); The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology, University Park, USA (GRID:grid.29857.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 4281) 
 The University of Alabama, Department of Biological Sciences, Tuscaloosa, USA (GRID:grid.411015.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0727 7545); Texas State University, Department of Biology, San Marcos, USA (GRID:grid.264772.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 0682 245X) 
 The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology, University Park, USA (GRID:grid.29857.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 4281); The Pennsylvania State University, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, University Park, USA (GRID:grid.29857.31) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 4281) 
 Universidade Federal do Pará, Programa de Pos-Graduacão em Zoologia, Belém, Brazil (GRID:grid.271300.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2171 5249) 
 Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, São Leopoldo, Brazil (GRID:grid.412302.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 1882 7290) 
Pages
959
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2912913376
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.