title: West Africa - a safe haven for frogs? A sub-continental assessment of the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis).
abstract: A putative driver of global amphibian decline is the panzootic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). While Bd has been documented across continental Africa, its distribution in West Africa remains ambiguous. We tested 793 West African amphibians (one caecilian and 61 anuran species) for the presence of Bd. The samples originated from seven West African countries - Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone - and were collected from a variety of habitats, ranging from lowland rainforests to montane forests, montane grasslands to humid and dry lowland savannahs. The species investigated comprised various life-history strategies, but we focused particularly on aquatic and riparian species. We used diagnostic PCR to screen 656 specimen swabs and histology to analyse 137 specimen toe tips. All samples tested negative for Bd, including a widespread habitat generalist Hoplobatrachus occipitalis which is intensively traded on the West African food market and thus could be a potential dispersal agent for Bd. Continental fine-grained (30 arc seconds) environmental niche models suggest that Bd should have a broad distribution across West Africa that includes most of the regions and habitats that we surveyed. The surprising apparent absence of Bd in West Africa indicates that the Dahomey Gap may have acted as a natural barrier. Herein we highlight the importance of this Bd-free region of the African continent - especially for the long-term conservation of several threatened species depending on fast flowing forest streams (Conraua alleni ("Vulnerable") and Petropedetes natator ("Near Threatened")) as well as the "Critically Endangered" viviparous toad endemic to the montane grasslands of Mount Nimba (Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis).
authors: Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, Berlin, Germany. johannes.penner@mfn-berlin.de
authors: Johannes
authors: J
authors: Penner
authors: Gilbert B
authors: GB
authors: Adum
authors: Matthew T
authors: MT
authors: McElroy
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Doherty-Bone
authors: Mareike
authors: M
authors: Hirschfeld
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Sandberger
authors: Ché
authors: C
authors: Weldon
authors: Andrew A
authors: AA
authors: Cunningham
authors: Torsten
authors: T
authors: Ohst
authors: Emma
authors: E
authors: Wombwell
authors: Daniel M
authors: DM
authors: Portik
authors: Duncan
authors: D
authors: Reid
authors: Annika
authors: A
authors: Hillers
authors: Caleb
authors: C
authors: Ofori-Boateng
authors: William
authors: W
authors: Oduro
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Plötner
authors: Annemarie
authors: A
authors: Ohler
authors: Adam D
authors: AD
authors: Leaché
authors: Mark-Oliver
authors: MO
authors: Rödel
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000382:microbiology*; D008411:Chytridiomycota / Q000235:genetics*; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity