10.6084/m9.figshare.3547077.v1 Kris Murray Kris Murray Richard Retallick Richard Retallick Keith R. McDonald Keith R. McDonald Diana Mendez Diana Mendez Ken Aplin Ken Aplin Peter Kirkpatrick Peter Kirkpatrick Lee Berger Lee Berger David Hunter David Hunter Harry B. Hines Harry B. Hines R. Campbell R. Campbell Matthew Pauza Matthew Pauza Michael Driessen Michael Driessen Richard Speare Richard Speare Stephen J. Richards Stephen J. Richards Michael Mahony Michael Mahony Alastair Freeman Alastair Freeman Andrea D. Phillott Andrea D. Phillott Jean-Marc Hero Jean-Marc Hero Kerry Kriger Kerry Kriger Don Driscoll Don Driscoll Adam Felton Adam Felton Robert Puschendorf Robert Puschendorf Lee F. Skerratt Lee F. Skerratt Data Paper. Data Paper Wiley 2016 Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis amphibian chytrid fungus infectious disease risk assessment mapping frog chytridiomycosis conservation distribution extinction Environmental Science Ecology 2016-08-09 03:07:52 Dataset https://wiley.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Paper_Data_Paper/3547077 <h2>File List</h2><blockquote> <p><a href="Chytridiomycosis_data_1956_2007.txt">Chytridiomycosis_data_1956_2007.txt</a> -- 10183 records, not including header row. File is ASCII text, comma delimited. No compression schemes were used.</p> </blockquote><h2>Description</h2><blockquote> <p>Chytridiomycosis is the worst disease to affect vertebrate biodiversity on record. In Australia, it is thought to have caused the extinction of four frog species, and it threatens the survival of at least 10 more. We report the current distribution and host range of this invasive disease in Australia, which is essential knowledge for conservation management. We envisage that the data be used in a global and national context for predictive modeling, meta-analyses, and risk assessment. Our continent-wide data set comprises 821 sites in Australia and includes 10183 records from more than 80 contributors spanning collection dates from 1956 to 2007. Sick and dead frogs from the field and apparently healthy frogs from museum collections were tested opportunistically for the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the fungal pathogen causing chytridiomycosis, and apparently healthy frogs and tadpoles found during surveys were tested purposively. The diagnostic tests used were histology of skin samples and quantitative PCR of skin swabs. Chytridiomycosis was found in all Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory, but not in the Northern Territory. It appears to be currently confined to the relatively cool and wet areas of Australia, such as along the Great Dividing Range and adjacent coastal areas in the eastern mainland states of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, eastern and central Tasmania, southern South Australia, and southwestern Western Australia. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis may have been introduced into Australia via the port of Brisbane around 1978 and spread northward and southward. It did not appear to arrive in Western Australia until 1985. The earliest records from South Australia and Tasmania are from 1995 and 2004, respectively, although archival studies from these states are lacking. We also report negative findings showing that the disease does not currently occur in some areas that appear to be environmentally suitable, including Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and most of the World Heritage Area in western Tasmania. Infection with <i>B. dendrobatidis</i> has been recorded from 63 frog species in Australia to date, all belonging to the Hylidae, Limnodynastidae, and Myobatrachidae, with the exception of one individual of a species from the Microhylidae and the introduced cane toad of the family Bufonidae.</p> <p><i>Key words: amphibian chytrid fungus; </i>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis<i>; chytridiomycosis; conservation; distribution; extinction; frog; infectious disease; mapping; risk assessment.</i></p> </blockquote>