PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 167: Toxicology / Disease: Viruses, Fungi, and Contaminants
Friday, August 12, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 524 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Field evidence for vector-borne transmission of Ichthyophonus in amphibians.

Raffel, Thomas^*,1, Hudson, Peter¹, ¹ Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

ABSTRACT- Disease has been implicated in mass mortality events and declines of amphibian populations around the world. One pathogen associated with mortality events in North America is an Ichthyophonus-like organism which affects newts and several species of ranid frogs, yet we know virtually nothing about the distribution of this pathogen in wild populations or how it is transmitted. In an effort to determine what factors influence the distribution and abundance of this pathogen, we measured Ichthyophonus prevalence and factors hypothesized to contribute to transmission for sixteen populations of Red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) during the spring of 2004. In contrast to our initial hypotheses assuming trophic transmission, we found evidence for a role of the amphibian leech (Desserobdella picta) in transmission of this pathogen. Experimental work will be necessary to confirm if leeches act as vectors for Ichthyophonus in amphibians.

Key words: salamander, parasite, fungus