RT Journal Article
T1 Climate change and outbreaks of amphibian chytridiomycosis in a montane area of Central Spain; is there a link?
A1 Bosch López, Jaime Alfonso
A1 Carrascal, Luis M.
A1 Durán Montejano, Luis
A1 Walker, Susan
A1 Fisher, Matthew C.
AB Amphibian species are declining at an alarming rate on a global scale in large part owing to an infectious disease caused by the chytridiomycete fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. This disease of amphibians has recently emerged within Europe, but knowledge of its effects on amphibian assemblages remains poor. Importantly, little is known about the environmental envelope that is associated with chytridiomycosis in Europe and the potential for climate change to drive future disease dynamics. Here, we use long-term observations on amphibian population dynamics in the Penalara Natural Park, Spain, to investigate the link between climate change and chytridiomycosis. Our analysis shows a significant association between change in local climatic variables and the occurrence of chytridiomycosis within this region. Specifically, we show that rising temperature is linked to the occurrence of chytrid-related disease, consistent with the chytrid-thermal-optimum hypothesis. We show that these local variables are driven by general circulation patterns, principally the North Atlantic Oscillation. Given that B. dendrobatidis is known to be broadly distributed across Europe, there is now an urgent need to assess the generality of our finding and determine whether climate-driven epidemics may be expected to impact on amphibian species across the wider region.
PB The Royal Society
SN 0962-8452
YR 2006
FD 2006
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94734
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94734
LA eng
NO Bosch Jaime, Carrascal Luís M, Durán Luis, Walker Susan and Fisher Matthew C 2007Climate change and outbreaks of amphibian chytridiomycosis in a montane area of Central Spain; is there a link?Proc. R. Soc. B.274253–260.https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3713
NO Fundación BBVA
NO Natural Environment Research Council 
DS Docta Complutense
RD 27 abr 2025