Data from: Leaf litter leachate limits fungal pathogen growth but not amphibian infection
Data files
Jun 02, 2026 version files 26.20 KB
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Experiment_1_in_vitro_Martin_etal.csv
8.82 KB
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Experiment_2_in_vivo_Martin_etal.csv
5.41 KB
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README.md
4.37 KB
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Supplemental_experiment_Martin_etal.csv
7.61 KB
Abstract
Terrestrial leaf litter can release chemical compounds into the water, creating a solution called “leachate” that can have direct and indirect impacts on freshwater organisms. In this study, we investigated the direct effects of leaf litter leachates from six plant species on the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in vitro, and their effects on tadpole infection in vivo, when tadpoles were reared in leachates before Bd exposure. In our in vitro experiment, all six types of leachates reduced the concentration of Bd zoosporangia, and there were mixed effects of leachate type on the concentration of Bd zoospores. Purple loosestrife leachate had the greatest effect on Bd in the in vitro experiment suggesting that this plant species may produce chemicals that are directly detrimental to Bd. The negative effects of leachates on Bd in vitro increased with leachate concentration. In our in vivo tadpole experiments, leachates had no measurable impact on the tadpole host survival, size, development, or infection with Bd. Our results indicate that leaf litter leachate can have direct negative effects on Bd, but these effects may not translate to large changes in infection in tadpoles. However, future studies are necessary to determine the comprehensive impact of leachates on aquatic amphibians and their pathogens in natural populations. These results highlight the importance of understanding terrestrial inputs into freshwater systems.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.t4b8gtjhq
Description of the data and file structure
For the data files associated with the manuscript “Leaf litter leachate limits fungal pathogen growth but not amphibian infection” by Martin, Adarve-Rengifo, Siddons, Blackwood, Hua, and Searle.
Files and variables
File: READ_ME.docx
Description:
File: Experiment_2_in_vivo_Martin_etal.csv
Description: These data are from experiment 2, which was our tadpole exposure trial when tadpoles were exposed to leachates before, but not during or after exposure to the pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Each row is a single tadpole (replicate).
Variables
- TID = tadpole identification number, or replicate number
- treatment = numerical indicator of the treatment type. 1 = purple loosestrife, 2 = steeplebush, 3 = autumn olive, 4 = huckleberry, 5 = common reed, 6 = cattail, 7 = control (clean water)
- leachate = an indicator of the plant species used to create the leachate with SB (steeplebush), BH (black huckleberry), CA (cattail), PL (purple loosestrife), AO (autumn olive), and CR (common reed).
- days_survived = the number of experimental days the tadpole survived
- censored = an indicator of whether survival was censored with 0 = censored and 1 = not censored
- infect_status = a numerical indicator of infection status with 0 = not infected and 1 = infected. “NA” values are animals that were not tested for infection.
- Quantmean = the estimated quantity of the pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) estimated from quantitative-PCR
- Log_Quantmean = the log10 of the “Quantmean” value
- stage = the Gosner developmental stage of the tadpole at the end of the experiment
- mass = the mas (g) of the tadpole at the end of the experiment
File: Experiment_1_in_vitro_Martin_etal.csv
Description: These data are from the in vitro experiment, where Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was cultured in various types and concentrations of leachate. Each row is a single replicate.
Variables
- Treatment = indicator of the leachate type by concentration treatment, where the letters are an abbreviation of the plant species: SB (steeplebush), BH (black huckleberry), CA (cattail), PL (purple loosestrife), AO (autumn olive), and CR (common reed). The numbers are the concentration of the leachate where 25 = 0.25 g/L, 50 = 0.50 g/L, 10 = 1.00 g/L, and 20 = 2.00 g/L
- PlantSp = the species of plant used to create the leachate for this replicate
- Concentration = the concentration of plant litter used to create the leachate in g/L.
- Day = the sampling day that the sample was counted, with 1 = the first day of counting (day 10 of the experiment)
- TotalZp = the total number of zoospores in the subsample
- MovingZp = the number of moving zoospores in the subsample
- TotalSporangia = the number of zoosporangia in the subsample
File: Supplemental_experiment_Martin_etal.csv
Description: These data are from the supplemental experiment which was our tadpole exposure trial when tadpoles were exposed to leachates before, during, and after exposure to the pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Each row is a single tadpole (replicate).
Variables
- TID = tadpole identification number, or replicate number
- treatment = numerical indicator of the treatment type: 1 = purple loosestrife, 2 = steeplebush, 3 = autumn olive, 4 = huckleberry, 5 = common reed, 6 = cattail, 7 = control (clean water) with no Bd exposure
- leachate = an indicator of the plant species used to create the leachate with SB (steeplebush), BH (black huckleberry), CA (cattail), PL (purple loosestrife), AO (autumn olive), and CR (common reed).
- days_survived = the number of experimental days the tadpole survived
- censored = an indicator of whether survival was censored with 0 = censored and 1 = not censored
- infect_status = a numerical indicator of infection status with 0 = not infected and 1 = infected. “NA” values are animals that were not tested for infection.
- Quantmean = the estimated quantity of the pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) estimated from quantitative-PCR
- log.quant.mean = the log10 of the “Quantmean” value