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Data from: Rapid emergence of an amphibian pathogen coincided with historic amphibian declines in the Neotropics

Jervis, Phillip123; Sullivan, Connor24; Manzano Pasquel, Andrea56; Rosa, Gonçalo178; Tarvin, Rebecca9; Ron, Santiago5; Vrendenberg, Vance6; Fisher, Matthew2; Merino-Viteri, Andres5

Published Apr 09, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1xf

Data files

Apr 09, 2026 version files 9.49 MB

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Abstract

The emergence of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in South America has been attributed to multiple introductions followed by a bidirectional latitudinal spread along the primary Andean cordilleras. In Ecuador, this hypothesis is supported by anecdotal reports of population declines in Bd-susceptible genera such as Telmatobius and Atelopus during the mid-1980s. To evaluate this pattern, we combined published Bd records with retrospective screening of museum specimens collected between 1950 and 2010, along with surveys of contemporary populations, to characterize the spatial, temporal, and host-specific dynamics of Bd emergence in Ecuador. We compiled a comprehensive database of Bd records from Ecuadorian anurans comprising over 7,000 samples and analyzed patterns of emergence using generalized linear mixed models and spatial clustering techniques. The dataset was also used to estimate Bd prevalence across four representative genera: Atelopus, Telmatobius, Gastrotheca, and Pristimantis. Additionally, Bayesian methods were applied to assess the probability that Bd was present in Ecuador prior to its first documented detection. Our results overturn the prevailing narrative of Bd emergence in the Neotropics and provide a rare, long-term view of an invasive pathogen’s trajectory from introduction to persistence. We found that: (1) Bd likely represents a novel pathogen to Ecuador; (2) Bd was first detected in 1974 and had become widespread by 1980; (3) there is no evidence supporting a bidirectional wave of spread; and (4) the genera Atelopus, Telmatobius, and Gastrotheca experienced epizootic disease dynamics, with declines peaking in the 1990s. We found that Bd is likely a novel pathogen that was introduced in the early 1970s and peaked in prevalence during the late 1980s and 1990s. The available evidence supports the conclusion that an outbreak of chytridiomycosis may lead to catastrophic declines in Ecuadorian amphibians. Disease dynamics have since subsided to enzootic coexistence in extant amphibian communities.