Biotic Survey of Atlantic Coastal Forest Frogs and an Emergent Pathogen Implicated in Amphibian Declines

巴西东部的大西洋海岸森林是世界上最多样化的栖息地之一，被命名为生物多样性热点，被列为最优先保护的地区。Zamudio在巴西的合作研究解决了该栖息地多样性的起源和维护问题。来自大陆和岛屿蛙群落调查的数据将被用来解决关于该地区沿海和岛屿种群的进化、多样性、保护遗传学和生物地理的假说。此外，研究小组将对所有物种进行树突巴氏杆菌(Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis)的检测，这是一种最近在巴西发现的壶菌病原体，可能对南美洲的无尾目动物构成威胁。拟议的生物调查将估计多个大西洋海岸森林地点的组成，有助于了解多样性、物种分布和多样化模式，并帮助我们了解碎片化如何影响群落结构和种群连通性。此外，这项工作将为一种与两栖动物数量下降有关的紧急传染病提供基线数据。最后，该项目增加了国际科学合作，包括培训美国热带生物学研究生和巴西学生在分类学和种群遗传学中应用分子技术。该项目的部分资金由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室提供。

The Atlantic Coastal Forest of eastern Brazil is one of the most diverse habitats in the world, and has been named a biodiversity hot-spot with highest priority for conservation. Zamudio's collaborative research in Brazil addresses the origins and maintenance of diversity in this habitat. Data from surveys of mainland and island frog communities will be used to address hypotheses about the evolution, diversity, conservation genetics, and biogeography of coastal and island populations in this region. In addition, the research team will assay all species for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a chytrid pathogen recently discovered in Brazil that may be a threat to anurans in South America. The proposed biotic survey will estimate composition of multiple Atlantic Coastal Forest sites, contributing to knowledge of diversity, species distributions, and modes of diversification, and our understanding of how fragmentation affects community structure and population connectivity. Additionally, this work will provide baseline data for an emergent infectious disease that has been implicated in amphibian declines. Finally, this project increases international scientific collaborations, including training of US graduate students in tropical biology and Brazilian students in the application of molecular techniques in systematics and population genetics. Partial funding for this project was provided by the Office of International Science and Engineering at NSF.