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Dryad

Data for: Environmental stressors do not lead to more severe ranavirus epidemics

Data files

Dec 06, 2024 version files 577.08 KB

Abstract

In this study we tracked experimentally-induced epidemics of ranavirus infections in 96 populations of wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae (in addition to 32 control populations) raised in mesocosms with low or high salinity (well water, 109-177uS/cm; or well water + road salt 1900-2000uS/cm) crossed factorially with ambient or elevated (ambient + 3°C) water temperature. Epidemics were initiated by the introduction of two ranavirus-infected larvae (waterbath exposed to 2.5 × 104 plaque-forming units/mL of a local ranavirus isolate for the prior 24h) into each of the 96 virus mesocosms or two uninfected larvae in the 32 control mesocosms. Mesocosms were checked daily for carcasses and metamorphosing individuals (=front limb emergence), which were removed and frozen for later analyses. Recovered carcasses and a subset of metamorphosing individuals were then screened for ranavirus infection with a quantitative realtime PCR assay.