title: Collapse of amphibian communities due to an introduced Ranavirus.
abstract: The emergence of infectious diseases with a broad host range can have a dramatic impact on entire communities and has become one of the main threats to biodiversity. Here, we report the simultaneous exploitation of entire communities of potential hosts with associated severe declines following invasion by a novel viral pathogen. We found two phylogenetically related, highly virulent viruses (genus Ranavirus, family Iridoviridae) causing mass mortality in multiple, diverse amphibian hosts in northern Spain, as well as a third, relatively avirulent virus. We document host declines in multiple species at multiple sites in the region. Our work reveals a group of pathogens that seem to have preexisting capacity to infect and evade immunity in multiple diverse and novel hosts, and that are exerting massive impacts on host communities. This report provides an exceptional record of host population trends being tracked in real time following emergence of a wildlife disease and a striking example of a novel, generalist pathogen repeatedly crossing the species barrier with catastrophic consequences at the level of host communities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK; The School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK. Electronic address: s.price@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
authors.forename: Trenton W J
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Garner
authors.affiliation: The School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.affiliation: UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Balloux
authors.affiliation: Asociación Herpetológica Española, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ayres
authors.affiliation: Parque Nacional Picos de Europa, Avenida Covadonga 43, 33550 Cangas de Onis, Asturias, Spain.
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mora-Cabello de Alba
authors.affiliation: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bosch
mesh_terms: D000663:Amphibians / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D010802:Phylogeny; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D017995:Ranavirus / Q000502:physiology*