Data from: Disassembly of a tadpole community by a multi-host fungal pathogen with limited evidence of recovery

Emerging infectious diseases can cause host community disassembly, but the mechanisms driving the order of species declines and extirpations following a disease outbreak are unclear. We documented the community disassembly of a Neotropical tadpole community during a chytridiomycosis outbreak, triggered by the generalist fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Within the first 11 months of Bd arrival, tadpole density and occupancy rapidly declined. Rarity, in terms of tadpole occupancy and adult relative abundance, did not predict the odds of tadpole species occupancy declines. But species losses were taxonomically selective, with glassfrogs (Family: Centrolenidae) disappearing the fastest and tree frogs (Family: Hylidae) and dart-poison frogs (Family: Dendrobatidae) remaining the longest. We detected biotic homogenization of tadpole communities, with post-decline communities resembling one another more strongly than pre-decline communities. The entire tadpole community was extirpated within 22 months following Bd arrival, and we found limited signs of recovery within 10 years post-outbreak. Because of imperfect species detection inherent to sampling species rich tropical communities and the difficulty of devising a single study design protocol to sample physically complex tropical habitats, we used simulations to provide recommendations for future surveys to adequately sample diverse Neotropical communities. Our unique dataset on tadpole community composition before and after Bd arrival is a valuable baseline for assessing amphibian recovery. Our results are of direct relevance to conservation managers and community ecologists interested in understanding the timing, magnitude, and consequences of disease outbreaks as emerging infectious diseases spread globally.

新发传染病可引发宿主群落解体，但疾病暴发后驱动物种衰退与局部灭绝顺序的机制仍不明晰。我们记录了由泛化真菌病原体蛙壶菌（Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd）引发的壶菌病暴发期间，新热带区蝌蚪群落的解体过程。在蛙壶菌入侵后的前11个月内，蝌蚪密度与占用率快速下降。以蝌蚪占用率和成体相对丰度衡量的稀有度，并未预测出蝌蚪物种占用率衰退的概率。但物种消失具有分类学选择性：瞻星蛙科（Centrolenidae）的物种消失速度最快，而雨蛙科（Hylidae）与箭毒蛙科（Dendrobatidae）的物种留存时间最长。我们检测到蝌蚪群落出现生物均质化现象——暴发后的群落相较于暴发前，彼此间的相似度显著更高。在蛙壶菌入侵后的22个月内，整个蝌蚪群落彻底局部灭绝，且我们在暴发后10年内未观察到明显的恢复迹象。鉴于物种丰富的热带群落采样存在固有物种检测不完全的问题，且难以设计一套统一的研究方案来对物理结构复杂的热带生境进行采样，我们通过模拟实验为未来的调查工作提供建议，以确保能充分采样多样的新热带区群落。我们这套关于蛙壶菌入侵前后蝌蚪群落组成的独特数据集，是评估两栖动物恢复情况的宝贵基线。我们的研究结果与关注全球新发传染病传播过程中疾病暴发的时间、规模与后果的保护管理者及群落生态学家直接相关。