title: Disentangling host, pathogen, and environmental determinants of a recently emerged wildlife disease: lessons from the first 15 years of amphibian chytridiomycosis research.
abstract: The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which affects species across all continents, recently emerged as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Yet, many aspects of the basic biology and epidemiology of the pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), are still unknown, such as when and from where did Bd emerge and what is its true ecological niche? Here, we review the ecology and evolution of Bd in the Americas and highlight controversies that make this disease so enigmatic. We explore factors associated with variance in severity of epizootics focusing on the disease triangle of host susceptibility, pathogen virulence, and environment. Reevaluating the causes of the panzootic is timely given the wealth of data on Bd prevalence across hosts and communities and the recent discoveries suggesting co-evolutionary potential of hosts and Bd. We generate a new species distribution model for Bd in the Americas based on over 30,000 records and suggest a novel future research agenda. Instead of focusing on pathogen "hot spots," we need to identify pathogen "cold spots" so that we can better understand what limits the pathogen's distribution. Finally, we introduce the concept of "the Ghost of Epizootics Past" to discuss expected patterns in postepizootic host communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109.
authors.forename: Timothy Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de História Natural de Anfíbios Brasileiros (LaHNAB) Departamento de Biologia Animal Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas Caixa Postal 6109 Campinas São Paulo CEP 13083-863 Brazil.
authors.forename: L Felipe
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Toledo
authors.affiliation: Section of Herpetology Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig Adenauerallee 160 53113 Bonn Germany.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rödder
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Antígenos Bacterianos II Departamento de Genética, Evolução e Bioagentes Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas Caixa Postal 6109 Campinas São Paulo CEP 13083-862 Brazil.
authors.forename: Domingos
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: da Silva Leite
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109.
authors.forename: Anat M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Belasen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109.
authors.forename: Clarisse M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Betancourt-Román
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109.
authors.forename: Thomas S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Jenkinson
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello Santiago Chile.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soto-Azat
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de História Natural de Anfíbios Brasileiros (LaHNAB) Departamento de Biologia Animal Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas Caixa Postal 6109 Campinas São Paulo CEP 13083-863 Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lambertini
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca New York 14853.
authors.forename: Ana V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia Laboratório de Anfíbios e Répteis Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biologia Ilha do Fundão, Caixa postal: 68044 Rio de Janeiro RJ CEP 21941-590 Brazil.
authors.forename: Joice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences Arizona State University PO Box 874501 Tempe Arizona 85287-4501.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology University of Puerto Rico San Juan 00931 Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Burrowes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology University of Maryland College Park Maryland 20901.
authors.forename: Karen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Lips
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Cornell University Ithaca New York 14853.
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Zamudio
authors.affiliation: School of Biology and Ecology University of Maine Orono Maine 04469-5722.
authors.forename: Joyce E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Longcore
keywords: Amphibian; Emerging infectious disease; chytrid; fungi; immunogenetics; species distribution model; virulence