Temperature dependent effects of cutaneous bacteria on a frog's tolerance of fungal infection

Defense against pathogens is one of many benefits that bacteria provide to animal hosts. A clearer understanding of how changes in the environment affect the interactions between animals and their microbial benefactors is needed in order to predict the impact and dynamics of emerging animal diseases. Due to its dramatic effects on the physiology of animals and their pathogens, temperature may be a key variable modulating the level of protection that beneficial bacteria provide to their animal hosts. Here we investigate how temperature and the makeup of the skin microbial community impact the susceptibility of amphibian hosts to infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, one of two fungal pathogens known to cause the disease chytridiomycosis. To do this, we manipulated the skin bacterial communities of susceptible hosts, northern cricket frogs (Acris crepitans), prior to exposing these animals to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis under two different ecologically relevant temperatures. Our...,
Robak_and_Richards_Zawacki_2018_data
This file contains data on survival, body condition, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis load, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia load on Acris crepitans frogs involved in the experiment described in Robak & Richards-Zawacki (2018).
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