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Jakóbik J, Drohvalenko M, Fernandez Melendez E, Kępa E, Klynova O, Fedorova A, Korshunov O, Marushchak O, Nekrasova O, Suriadna N, Smirnov N, Tkachenko O, Tupikov A, Dufresnes C, Zinenko O, Pabijan M
Countrywide screening supports model-based predictions of the distribution of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Ukraine
A recent species distribution model (SDM) for the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) revealed that western Ukraine is highly suitable for the pathogen. Jakóbik et al. ground-truthed the SDM using qPCR on amphibian samples collected from across Ukraine. Infections were detected for 33 waterfrog Pelophylax sp. and fire-bellied toad Bombina sp. samples from 8 localities with significantly higher predicted Bd habitat suitability than sites that were pathogen-free. Infections were present in the western, forested peripheries of the country with a relatively cool, moist climate but not in the more continental central, southern, or eastern regions of Ukraine. These results corroborate the model-predicted distribution of chytrid fungus in Ukraine and suggest potential climatic refugia for Bd-susceptible amphibian hosts.