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Frog Saunas
ANTHONY WADDLE
SPA DAY: The chytrid fungus can’t tolerate high temperatures. Saunas give frogs a better chance of fighting off infection.
YORICK LAMBREGHTS
FROG SWAB: A frog is tested for chytrid fungus.
Frogs around the world are suffering from a deadly infection. This disease is caused by the chytrid fungus—a microbe that infects the skin of frogs and other amphibians. It is usually fatal (see “Killer Fungus” in Science World, March 16, 2020).
To help tackle this problem, scientists in Australia tested a unique solution: saunas. “We knew that this fungus likes to be cold and wet,” says Anthony Waddle, a biologist at Macquarie University. So he and his colleagues designed a spa to keep the frogs warm. The structure is made out of dark-colored bricks and placed in the sun to absorb heat. The scientists observed that frogs that sat inside the bricks were less likely to contract fungal infections.
HOT SPOT: Scientists created saunas by stacking piles of black-painted bricks inside a tarp greenhouse and leaving it in the sun to absorb heat.
Chytrid fungus has contributed to the decline or extinction of at least 500 species of amphibians—a group including frogs, toads, and salamanders. This graph shows where and how amphibians have been most affected by chytrid. Which region saw the greatest number of extinctions (presumed and confirmed)?
SOURCE: NATURE (2019)