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Editor's Notes

Megan Zerger received ORCA Travel Grant #184 to present at the Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 2025 Annual Meeting, March 13-16, 2025.

Abstract

Amphibian biodiversity has greatly diminished in recent years due to panzootic pathogenic fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the cause of the deadly disease chytridiomycosis (chytrid). The pathogenesis of chytrid is still unclear, as certain species and individuals within a species are differentially affected. Susceptibility and mortality of Bd are influenced by prolonged corticosterone activity. When produced in excess, this glucocorticoid deleteriously affects many of the same physiological processes as Bd infections. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the relationship of corticosterone variation and Bd spore load in wild Arizona tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum). In 2022 and 2023, I used a dermal swabbing method to collect baseline (resting) corticosterone and Bd samples from wild-caught paedomorphic and metamorphic salamanders. I am currently processing these samples and expect to have preliminary results soon. This study will provide a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of Bd and the interacting effects of glucocorticoid production and polyphenic life history on disease resistance. These results will help develop the use of corticosterone as a predictor of Bd and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) susceptibility and severity.

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