Releasing Captive-Bred Harlequin Frogs into the Wild

The release of a significant number of Endangered harlequin frogs that are highly susceptible to the chytrid fungus prompted some concerns that there may be unintended ecological consequences.The world of harlequin frogs is in crisis. There are about 100 species of these remarkable brightly coloured toads found in Latin America, and the majority of them are categorized as Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List—a result of extensive population declines caused by chytridiomycosis, a deadly disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd).Would our released frogs become infected and act as ‘supershedders’ of chytridiomycosis into the environment? To address these uncertainties, researhers conducted control surveys in another nearby stream, to see how the situation there, where no captive-bred frogs were released, compared to the release site.