Retrospective Analysis of Parasites in Wild-Caught Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) Experimentally Exposed to Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans.

Abstract

Amphibians are experiencing extinction rates over 200 times the background extinction rate. One emerging infectious disease contributing to amphibian declines is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), which has caused mass die-offs of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) in Europe and could pose a major threat to North American salamander biodiversity if introduced to the continent. A recent study investigated the effects of pathogen dose and environmental temperature on Bsal chytridiomycosis disease progression in wild-caught Notophthalmus viridescens (eastern newts). During that study, necropsy and histologic examination revealed that many newts were infected with multiple parasites. We performed a retrospective analysis on the 41 eastern newts from that study to evaluate whether parasite load was related to Bsal load, environmental temperature, or host survival. In this study 34% (15/41) of newts were infected with nematodes and 22% (9/41) were infected with protozoans. Nematode loads were greatest in newts held at cooler temperatures. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the overall parasite load and the survival time of newts infected with Bsal. Our results suggest that environmental temperature and parasite infection may interact to increase infection tolerance, which is consistent with recent results reported for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Our results highlight the importance of studying micro- and macroparasite interactions and their possible impacts on host survival.