Methods:
We will use hand capture and dip netting to capture animals and look for evidence of the disease on the station property. Tadpoles will be captured and investigated for evidence of malformed or depigmented mouthparts. Adult amphibians will be captured, swabbed, and the presence of chytrid determined using diagnostic PCR methods on the swabs.
We will attempt to isolate the chytrid fungus by baiting the fungus off of amphibians collected on UMBS property that have a detectable pathogen infection. To do so, we will collect animals on the station property, swab them with a MW rayon swab and then house them in a ULAM approved facility. The swab will be used for pathogen diagnosis. If the swab returns as positive, the Michigan animal will be co-housed with a Hymenochirus boettgeri animal in the same cage, without allowing contact with the animals. The animals will be monitored daily for morbidity, and animals with heavy infection euthanized according to our animal protocol. The fungus will be isolated from the H. boettgeri using methods we have established.