Emerging Wildlife Diseases: Threats to Amphibian Biodiversity

青蛙和蝾螈是许多生态系统功能的关键贡献者。 因此，令人担忧的是，两栖动物物种在全球范围内正在减少，有些甚至濒临灭绝。 两栖动物减少的原因之一是传染病的出现。 这项拟议中的研究将回答一系列问题，旨在测试灭绝、疾病和环境变化之间的联系。 新的高毒性病原体会增加灭绝的机会吗？ 宿主的健康状况是否会改变感染风险？ 是否存在增加动物患病可能性的环境条件？ 为什么新出现的疾病会导致一些种群或物种灭绝，而不是其他种群或物种？ 一个由分子生物学家、免疫学家、病理学家、人口生态学家和流行病学家组成的国际小组将利用实地和实验室的实验和观察来回答这些问题和相关问题。 地球上的物种数量正在减少，这些损失影响到生态系统提供维持生命所需的货物和服务的能力。 传染病可能是某些生态系统中物种损失的原因，但对病原体如何增加灭绝风险知之甚少。 有时，一个关键物种的减少，例如美国鹰，标志着一个退化的环境，也威胁到许多其他生物。 如果我们要确保我们这一代和下一代有一个高质量的环境，那么了解传染病和两栖动物减少之间的联系是很重要的。

Frogs and salamanders are key contributors to many ecosystem functions. It is a concern, therefore, that amphibian species are declining worldwide, some to extinction. Among the suspected causes of amphibian declines is the emergence of infectious diseases. The proposed research will answer a series of questions designed to test how extinction, disease, and environmental change are linked. Do novel, highly virulent pathogens increase the chance of extinction? Does the health of the host change the risk of infection? Are there environmental conditions that increase the likelihood animals become ill? Why do emerging diseases drive some populations or species to extinction but not others? An international team of molecular biologists, immunologists, pathologists, population ecologists, and epidemiologists will use experiments and observations in the field and laboratory to answer these and related questions. The number of species on Earth is diminishing, and these losses affect the capacity of ecosystems to deliver the goods and services required to sustain life. Infectious diseases are likely responsible for species losses in some ecosystems, but relatively little is known about how pathogens increase the risk of extinction. From time to time the decline of a key species, for example the American eagle, signals a degrading environment that also threatens many other organisms. It is important to understand how infectious diseases and amphibian declines are linked if we are to ensure a high quality environment for our generation and those that follow.