Salamanders in Netherlands may become regionally extinct
Since 2010, in the Netherlands, there has been a new species of fungus that has been known to eat the salamander population’s skin, bringing it very close to regional extinction. The name of this fungus is Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, salamandrivorans meaning “salamander-eating”. A species related to the new fungus, called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has infested amphibian species all around the world, wiping out more than 200 species. Co-author Professor Matthew Fisher said: “It is a complete mystery why we are seeing this outbreak now, and one explanation is that the new salamander-killing fungus has invaded the Netherlands from elsewhere in the world”.
Fungi are one of the four main Pathogens; a pathogen is a category/type of disease. Pathogens are also living organisms so it is linked to Biology as it is a living thing. Bd can cause the disease chytridiomycosis, which the I.U.C.N. has called the single most devastating infectious disease in vertebrae animals. This fungus has been known to pass between salamanders into captivity to protect the remaining population in the Netherlands. There is no sign that the fungus is anywhere else but the Netherlands so it must be something that is happening there and only there.
I am a big fan of amphibians, which would be why I found this article very interesting. You would need to know a little about fungus and what it can do for this specific article to catch your attention. Overall I enjoyed reading about how salamanders in the Netherlands might be going regionally extinct just because of one thing that has spread. If something like this were to happen here, I would probably go and find all the salamanders and all other amphibians I can find and keep them healthy.
Works Cited:
"Salamanders under Threat from Deadly Skin-eating Fungus." Salamanders under Threat from Deadly Skin-eating Fungus. N.p., 2 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.