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.新兴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确。本研究记录了一次由泛化型真菌病原体蛙壶菌（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Bd入侵后的首11个月内，蝌蚪密度与占用率迅速下降。以蝌蚪占用率和成体相对多度衡量的稀有性，无法预测蝌蚪物种占用率衰退的发生概率。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，雨蛙科（Hylidae）树蛙与箭毒蛙科（Dendrobatidae）箭毒蛙的存续时间最长。研究团队检测到蝌蚪群落发生了生物均质化现象：衰退后的群落间相似度显著高于衰退前的群落。在Bd入侵后的22个月内，整个蝌蚪群落被彻底局部灭绝，且在暴发后的10年内仅观察到极为有限的恢复迹象。由于物种丰富的热带群落采样本身存在物种检测不完备性，且难以设计一套统一的研究方案来采样物理结构复杂的热带生境，本研究通过模拟分析为未来充分采样多样的新热带区群落的调查工作提供了建议。我们所获取的Bd入侵前后蝌蚪群落组成的独特数据集，可为评估两栖动物恢复情况提供宝贵的基准参照。随着新兴传染病在全球范围内扩散，本研究结果对于旨在阐明疾病暴发的时间进程、强度与后果的保护管理者与群落生态学家具有直接参考价值。