Lithobates vibicarius.

This project aims to dramatically improve our knowledge of threats of ranaviruses to neotropical amphibian populations and to increase public awareness within Costa Rica of emerging infectious diseases to wildlife. We will sample wild amphibians for ranaviruses throughout Costa Rica, focusing specifically on areas occupied by critically threatened amphibian populations – species that survived epidemic emergence of the amphibian chytrid fungus, but persist in very small and highly vulnerable “relict populations” that remain highly vulnerable to extinction. We will sample seven locations occupied by species of highly threatened amphibians, covering all major habitat types and biotic zones throughout Costa Rica. We also will sample populations of non-native amphibians introduced to Costa Rica and non-native amphibians in the pet trade, because these populations represent likely vectors for long-distance transport of non-native pathogens. We will culture several isolates of ranaviruses from wild native, non-native, and pet trade amphibians and use molecular techniques to characterize these isolates and compare with other ranavirus isolates from other geographic regions. Finally, we will conduct a public awareness campaign about the impacts of emerging infectious diseases to amphibians and other wildlife.

Ptychohyla legleri.

This project will directly advance conservation efforts for Costa Rican amphibians in several ways. First, this project will evaluate acute risks of ranavirus to critically threatened amphibians in the field. Second, isolation and genetic characterization of ranaviruses will help to determine whether strains of ranaviruses found in Costa Rica appear native or invasive. Finally, this project will further develop collaborations between conservation biologists from the United States and Costa Rica, and help to transfer knowledge and skills critical for comprehensive international efforts in amphibian conservation.