Meeting Abstract

P2.41  Tuesday, Jan. 5  Immune responses to an emerging pathogen:
Bacterial killing ability of amphibians exposed to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis GERVASI, S.S.*; SEARLE, C.L.; BLAUSTEIN, A.R.; Oregon State University; Oregon State University; Oregon State University gervasis@science.oregonstate.edu

Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife are appearing at an alarming
rate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and may pose a significant
threat to species and population level conservation. For example, 1/3
of all known amphibian species are currently threatened with
extinction, and the emerging fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis (Bd), has been implicated as a major driver of amphibian
declines worldwide. Over the last 20 years, a great deal has been
learned about the ecology and spatial distribution of Bd globally.
However, less is known about how Bd affects various physiological
responses in amphibians.Here, we (1) present a new method for
measuring immunocompetence in amphibians and (2) show that bacterial
killing ability (BKA) of amphibian blood changes during exposure to Bd.