Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis survey of amphibians in the northern Mozambique ‘Sky Islands’ and low lying areas

Over the last few decades the amphibian chytrid fungus,
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been cited as a
possible cause for widespread mortalities and population
declines in anuran species (e.g., Berger et al. 1998; Lips 1999;
Bosch et al. 2001; Stuart et al. 2004; Rachowicz et al. 2006),
however its status as a pathogen implicated in amphibian losses
in Africa remains uncertain. In Africa, although most studies
have mainly focused on reporting Bd presence, some studies
have reported on the absence of Bd in localities (see Table
1 for summary). The mapping of the presence and absence
of Bd has allowed us to determine areas of high prevalence
of the pathogen and therefore potentially areas of greater
conservation concern in terms of possible population declines
(Penner et al. 2013). The high altitude inselbergs in northern
Mozambique have been predicted as hotspots for Bd (Penner
et al. 2013). Until now, no Bd surveys have been undertaken for
Mozambique and we report on the first results of the presence
and absence of Bd in the northern part of the country