ABSTRACT: Infection by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a major threat to amphibians and has caused catastrophic global declines of amphibian populations. Some studies have detected a seasonal pattern of infection associated with the local climate, and although most of them have focused on investigating the seasonality of Bd in relation to its impacts on amphibians, fewer have aimed to understand the chytrid persistence in the amphibian assemblage over seasons by investigating reservoir hosts. Since tadpoles are generally tolerant to Bd infection, they often play a relevant role in local disease dynamics. Thus, we hypothesized that tadpoles of Boana faber, a species that can be found in permanent ponds throughout the seasons, would function as Bd reservoirs. We therefore investigated Bd infection prevalence in tadpoles of this species over 2 yr in a nature reserve. As expected, we detected a seasonal variation of Bd infection, with a higher prevalence of Bd during the coldest months (winter) when compared to the warmer months (summer). Interestingly, our seasonal-trend decomposition analysis showed that Bd prevalence is increasing annually in the area, which could represent either a natural fluctuation of this pathogen, or an imminent threat to that anuran assemblage. With this study, we highlight the tadpole of B. faber as a potential reservoir for Bd, and we suggest that monitoring Bd in such hosts could be a powerful tool for identifying priority areas for amphibian conservation.

中文翻译：

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在一个池塘栖species的热带物种中，两栖类壶虱的季节性流行

摘要：感染由壶菌蛙壶菌（屋宇署）是两栖类动物的主要威胁，并已造成两栖动物数量的灾难性的全球下滑。一些研究已经发现了与当地气候相关的季节性感染模式，尽管大多数研究都集中于研究Bd对两栖动物的影响的季节性，但很少有研究旨在了解两栖动物在整个季节的食糜持续性。通过调查水库主机。由于t通常耐受Bd感染，因此它们通常在局部疾病动态中发挥相关作用。因此，我们假设Boana faber的t这种在整个季节都可以在永久性池塘中发现的物种将作为Bd的水库。因此，我们在自然保护区调查了超过2年的t的Bd感染患病率。不出所料，我们发现了Bd感染的季节性变化，与最温暖的月份（夏季）相比，Bd在最冷的月份（冬季）患病率更高。有趣的是，我们的季节性趋势分解分析表明，该地区的Bd患病率逐年增加，这可能代表该病原体的自然波动，也可能威胁该无脊椎动物。通过这项研究，我们突出了费伯氏B的the 。作为潜在的Bd库，我们建议监测此类寄主中的Bd可能是确定两栖动物保护重点领域的有力工具。