Infectious diseases can cause severe population declines, reducing genetic diversity, ecological function, and prospects for long‐term survival. Such declines often result in genetic bottlenecks, with small, isolated populations that are especially vulnerable to extinction due to genetic drift and inbreeding. Chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ), has led to global amphibian declines. Yet, some popu...

Emerging diseases caused by fungi are a serious threat to wildlife biodiversity. The widespread fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused dramatic amphibian population declines and species extinctions worldwide. While many amphibians have been negatively affected by Bd, some populations/species have persisted despite its presence. One factor contributing to amphibian protection against this fungus is the h...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ), is a devastating infectious disease of amphibians. Retrospective studies using museum vouchers and genetic samples supported the hypothesis that Bd colonized Mexico from North America and then continued to spread into Central and South America, where it led to dramatic losses in tropical amphibian biodiversity (the epizootic wave hypothesis). While t...