Dramatic Declines of Montane Frogs in a Central African Biodiversity Hotspot.
Dramatic Declines of Montane Frogs in a Central African Biodiversity Hotspot.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0155129
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Rödel MO
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hirschfeld M;Blackburn DC;Doherty-Bone TM;Gonwouo LN;Ghose S;Rödel MO
两栖动物的数量正在全球范围内消失。许多种群的衰落和灭绝归因于壶菌病，这是一种由病原真菌串珠壶菌（Bd）引起的疾病。然而，在非洲，两栖动物群落的变化通常归因于栖息地的变化。我们进行了一项回顾性研究，利用2004 - 2012年的实地调查，在喀麦隆西部的两座山上，非洲两栖动物多样性的热点无尾动物区系。检测到的物种数量受到年份，栖息地退化和海拔的负面影响，我们检测到某些物种的下降。因为在这一地区的另一项研究显示，在2008年出现的Bd，我们筛选了额外的最近现场采集的样本，也预下降保存的博物馆标本的存在Bd支持出现在2008年之前。当比较Bd检测前后的年份时，我们发现Bd出现后两座山上的青蛙物种丰富度和丰度显着减少。我们的分析表明，这可能是中非无尾两栖类生物多样性第一次由疾病驱动的社区水平下降。几个物种的消失，已知容忍栖息地退化，并在较高海拔地区的下降趋势更强，是一致的BD引起的下降在其他地区。并不是所有的物种都减少了;一些物种的种群保持不变，其他物种在Bd出现后增加。这种变化可能是由感染概率的物种特异性差异解释的。需要增加栖息地保护和BD缓解战略，以维持多样化的两栖动物社区，如那些山。Manengouba拥有喀麦隆近一半的青蛙多样性。
Amphibian populations are vanishing worldwide. Declines and extinctions of many populations have been attributed to chytridiomycosis, a disease induced by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). In Africa, however, changes in amphibian assemblages were typically attributed to habitat change. We conducted a retrospective study utilizing field surveys from 2004–2012 of the anuran faunas on two mountains in western Cameroon, a hotspot of African amphibian diversity. The number of species detected was negatively influenced by year, habitat degradation, and elevation, and we detected a decline of certain species. Because another study in this region revealed an emergence of Bd in 2008, we screened additional recent field-collected samples and also pre-decline preserved museum specimens for the presence of Bd supporting emergence before 2008. When comparing the years before and after Bd detection, we found significantly diminished frog species richness and abundance on both mountains after Bd emergence. Our analyses suggest that this may be the first disease-driven community-level decline in anuran biodiversity in Central Africa. The disappearance of several species known to tolerate habitat degradation, and a trend of stronger declines at higher elevations, are consistent with Bd-induced declines in other regions. Not all species decreased; populations of some species remained constant, and others increased after the emergence of Bd. This variation might be explained by species-specific differences in infection probability. Increased habitat protection and Bd-mitigation strategies are needed for sustaining diverse amphibian communities such as those on Mt. Manengouba, which contains nearly half of Cameroon’s frog diversity.