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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home4/scienrds/scienceandnerds/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Source:https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/she-tracks-the-dna-of-elusive-species-on-everest-and-in-the-andes-20230417\/#comments<\/a><\/br> The fungus attacks the skin of vulnerable species. An infected frog then develops hyperkeratosis, a thickening of the keratin layer of the skin that inhibits water and oxygen from being absorbed. So its electrolytes get dangerously imbalanced and it\u2019s sloughing off skin. The frogs eventually go into cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n It can be devastating for certain species, but others appear to be much more resilient to it. There are a lot of complex questions about the pathogenicity of different fungal strains. It\u2019s a big field.<\/p>\n We have been studying which frogs are getting infected by chytrid fungus and then, while they\u2019re dealing with it, how they\u2019re also adapting to the effects of the warming climate.<\/p>\n We have been able to show that as the frogs advance upward and expand their range, they\u2019re bringing the fungus with them. Some of the frogs that we found near the top of the pass, at 5,300-meter elevation, have been chytrid-positive. When we researchers go into the field, we take a lot of precautions to spray our boots with alcohol so that we don\u2019t spread the fungus around.<\/p>\n In the Andes, we saw the disappearance of a species, the marbled water frog, Telmatobius marmoratus<\/em>. After 2005, the population crashed. We couldn\u2019t find them in any of the sites that we sampled for years. But by 2013, they appeared to be coming back. They\u2019re becoming more resistant to the fungus. There\u2019s hope that they\u2019ll do pretty well as they continue adapting to the rapidly changing environment up there.<\/p>\n My favorite is always going to be Lake Sibinacocha in Peru. You have flamingos flying over glaciers and Andean hummingbirds fluttering around you. Frogs and vicu\u00f1a. It\u2019s just amazingly beautiful, and incredibly biodiverse for such a high-mountain environment.<\/p>\n It\u2019s surprising, I know, because I\u2019m an arachnophobe!<\/p>\n While we were flipping over rocks in Peru looking for frogs, I spotted a little fuzzy bum sticking out of a hole. I looked at Bronwen Konecky<\/a>, a then-student and collaborator I was working with, and said, \u201cCan you catch that?\u201d She did.<\/p>\n We took a lot of photos and showed them to an expert tarantula taxonomist who said, \u201cLooks like you may have a new species. Any way you can collect some males and females?\u201d<\/p>\n I had to go back. That time, it was just me with a long pair of tongs, reaching into the holes. I would try to fish out the tarantulas very carefully and almost pass out from adrenalin overload.<\/p>\n The bigger specimens, our horse team helped collect. We deposited the new specimens in Lima and requested that they be sent out for taxonomic evaluation. About 10 years later, they were finally analyzed and results published. Sometimes it takes a long time, but the science does come out.<\/p>\n I would love to do more work in the Himalayas. I just love high-mountain environments. Put me in one and I\u2019m happy. I love to jump from rock to rock, flipping things over, looking for critters. My favorite thing to do is flip rocks and see what\u2019s under them.<\/p>\n
\nShe Tracks the DNA of Elusive Species That Hide in Harsh Places<\/br>
\n2023-04-18 21:58:06<\/br><\/p>\nYou led a long-term monitoring initiative in Peru that\u2019s focused on the amphibian chytrid fungus, which is seen as destroying many amphibian populations around the world. How does that fungus affect amphibians?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What have you found?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Do you have a favorite spot for doing fieldwork? <\/strong><\/h3>\n
How did you discover two new tarantula species?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What happened next? <\/strong><\/h3>\n
Where do you hope to conduct research next? Any dream locations?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In your spare time, you\u2019ve photographed and studied severe storms. Tell us about that. <\/strong><\/h3>\n