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，世界范围内的两栖动物物种正在减少，有些濒临灭绝。两栖动物数量减少的一个可疑原因是传染病的出现。拟议中的研究将回答一系列旨在测试物种灭绝、疾病和环境变化是如何联系在一起的问题。新的、高毒力的病原体会增加灭绝的机会吗？宿主的健康状况会改变感染的风险吗？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导致一些种群或物种灭绝，而另一些却没有？一个由分子生物学家、免疫学家、病理学家、种群生态学家和流行病学家组成的国际团队将通过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，这些损失影响了生态系统提供维持生命所需的商品和服务的能力。在一些生态系统中，传染病可能是造成物种损失的原因，但人们对病原体如何增加物种灭绝风险的了解相对较少。一个重要物种（例如美洲鹰）的数量不时地减少，标志着环境的退化，这也威胁到许多其他生物。如果我们要确保我们这一代和我们的后代有一个高质量的环境，了解传染病和两栖动物数量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.