A closer look at “Yosemite Toad Killer May Be Hiding in Their Own Burrows, UCLA Study Finds”, exactly as the source publishes it. A deadly fungus threatening Yosemite toads has been hiding in an unexpected place: the toads' own burrows. UCLA biologists discovered that Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the chytrid fungus decimating amphibian populations worldwide, can survive in terrestrial habitats, not just water as previously believed. The study, focused on the federally threatened Yosemite toad, found Bd in soil samples from toad burrows, suggesting the fungus persists in the environment and infects toads through their skin when they are on land.
This finding is significant because it changes our understanding of how the disease spreads and complicates conservation efforts. If the fungus can survive in soil, simply protecting water sources may not be enough to save the toads. This listing links straight to the original page, where the content is available in full.