New paper - Ranavirus prevalence in free-living frogs
09 Aug 2018 Philipp Boersch-Supan paper disease ecology Tweet this!A new paper with the QDEC Lab and collaborators from SUNY-ESF on the prevalence of ranavirus in tadpoles of free-living frogs has just been published in EcoHealth: Environmental Drivers of Ranavirus in Free-Living Amphibians in Constructed Ponds.
Our paper uses generalised linear models fitted in a Bayesian inference framework to analyze four years of Frog virus 3 prevalence and associated environmental parameters in populations of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) in a constructed pond system. We identified important variables to measure in assessments of ranaviral infection risk in newly constructed ponds, including effects of zooplankton, which have not been previously quantified in natural settings. High prevalence was best predicted by low temperature, high host density, low zooplankton concentrations, and Gosner stages approaching metamorphosis.
